Enter The Insane (older crappier version)
by Salad Shooter
Summary: This is the OLD VERSION of this story. For something that is more well written - and more exciting - please go to "Enter The Insane: the rise of Esplin 9466." Thanks!
1. Prologue and Chapter 1: Existence

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One more week of school. I can live through one more week of school.

FYI, my 14th birthday was two days ago. Hah. I remember over a year ago when I couldn't post cuz I was still 12 … Rachel9466 told me to lie about my age … what I wouldn't tell her was that I was too lazy to create an account when I could just use hers …

Rachel, if you're reading this, do NOT kill me. I get people to read your songfics and stuff. And don't get mad at me for being too lazy to create an account when you're too lazy to write your own big long stories that get a million reviews. :P

(Okay, the "million reviews" part was wishful thinking.)

Now I've been trying to create my own account for months, but it's not working. Yeesh.

Falan: Hi! *waves* I wrote the story over the summer. And I wrote the first two or three books of the quintilogy the summer before last summer. Now I'm so busy I can't even post. I'm in eighth grade … for one more week anyway.

Shona, Sherry and Terry Malense: Well … this is set in the same "universe" as IEH. Visser Three's still got … yeah. (Some ppl haven't read IEH here!) And … this has a lot more about Esplin, as in a lot, like he's the main character here!

Rachel: Nope, I haven't. Didja miss me? :) Fortunately, when school gets out I will be posting a lot more.

Nogard: Oh yeah! Duh … she said that I said "kill" 7 times and "killer" once. And like I said, this is set in the same universe as IEH, so all that stuff that happened in IEH will eventually happen, or has already happened, in this story.

DEDICATION: This story is for SJC the other special person, and Shona cuz she's the other Visser Three obsessee.

Wow. Add "other" to the list that already contains kill and probably.

So … prologue and first chappie of ETI. Hope you like it.

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PROLOGUE

It was a dark night on the Andalite home world.

The Yeerk Escal 946 looked out the window of the small Andalite transport. One shot was all it took. One shot, maybe another, then get out of here. Just enough to scare the Andalites. Possibly kill many of them.

He could do it. He could.

Sebrak 543 walked up to him. "Escal."

Sebrak and Escal were companions. Both were from the Hett Simplat pool, although they weren't siblings. Now they were Gedd-Controllers together.

"Yes, Sebrrrak."

"We arre herrre."

"Rrrr-I can see that."

Escal knew Sebrak wasn't looking forward to this any more than he was. Sebrak didn't have any special ties to the Andalites, but he disliked killing. Even killing Andalites.

Escal, on the other hand, could handle the killing. But he had become a friend to the Andalite called Seerow. Escal had wanted so much to be an Andalite, rather than a weak, blind Yeerk.

Seerow wasn't like the other Andalite warriors. No, Escal thought, he was kinder. More compassionate.

Like Sebrak.

Escal jerked his thoughts back to the present. Soon, Akdor 1154 would order him to take a few shots at the Andalite home world.

Escal stared at the planet. It was beautiful. Much more so than the Yeerk planet.

"Rrr-I can't do it," he said.

Sebrak nodded. "I know I rrr-couldn't."

"Can't do what?" Nalar 712 asked.

Nalar was the exact opposite of Sebrak. She was violent. She had nothing against wiping out the entire Andalite race — except that Escal and Sebrak were bitterly opposed to that idea. Nalar was from the Sulp Niar pool, so she had only known Escal and Sebrak for two years. Yet in that two years she had grown closer to them than any of her own siblings.

Escal sighed. "Look at that." He pointed out the window at the planet. "Akdorrr is going to orrrderrrr me to rrr-shoot at it verry soon. And I can't — rrr — I can't."

Nalar didn't agree. But she understood. And yet ... "But if you rrr-don't ... that means death by Kandrrrrona starrvation."

Escal nodded wordlessly.

"So what arrre you going to do?" Sebrak asked.

"I don't know," Escal said quietly.

Escal had been depressed for a long time, ever since the Yeerks had first attacked the Andalite-Yeerk Peace and Cooperation center on the Yeerk home world. He and thousands of other Yeerks had been loaded onto a few Andalite ships. There were about a quarter million, total.

Sebrak looked into the Yeerk pool that had been constructed by Gedd-Controllers. The Hak Replin pool. He could see Yeerks swimming around. Sebrak had not been depressed, exactly. Still, being a pacifist, he did not approve of many of the things the other Yeerks did.

Nalar looked around, restless. She did not like her friend being forced into a decision like this. Kandrona starvation or killing many members of a friend's kind ... what kind of a choice was that? It was a bad world when one had to make those choices. Very bad.

If Nalar had to decide, she wouldn't have a second thought about obeying those orders. Unless ... unless Escal or Sebrak begged her not to. Then she would have to reconsider.

Suddenly something caught Nalar's eye. "The pool!" she said. "Sebrak, Escal. Rrr-look in the pool."

Three Yeerks were joining. Becoming one.

"Rrrr … Is anyone else thinking what I'm rr-thinking?" Sebrak asked.

"Yes," Nalar said. "Therrre arre thrrree of us. One ... " she pointed at Escal. "Two ... " she pointed at Sebrak. "Thrrrree ... " she pointed at herself.

A slow Geddish smile appeared on Escal's face. "Yes. It's betterrrr than starrving. But you — Sebrrrrak and Nalarrrr — you would ... rrr ... you agrrree to do this?"

"Yes," Sebrak said.

Escal understood. Sebrak was tired of all the violence. But Escal wasn't so sure about Nalar. "Nalarrr?"

She smiled a freakish Geddish smile. "Wherrre you go, Escal, Sebrrrrak, I go."

Escal shouldn't have worried.

All three Yeerks left their hosts.

* * *

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* * *

Chapter 1

Their names were Esplin 9466 of the Hak Replin pool.

Both of them.

They were twins. One was primary, the other secondary. Only based on the fact that one was slightly bigger than the other. The fact that the primary twin was bolder and the secondary was more passive was pure coincidence. After all, they had been designated right after birth.

They had been born in the titanium-alloy Yeerk pool aboard the Andalite spacecraft. That's what the Hak Replin pool was. Nothing more than a tank full of Yeerks and Yeerk pool liquid.

Neither of them had host bodies. They were young, low-ranking Yeerks. Although sometimes Esplin the primary wondered what having a host would be like.

Then came the day he would find out.

* * *

An old Gedd was being used to train hostless Yeerks to handle a host body. Esplin the primary twin was fourth. Tarak 9375, the Yeerk he had become close friends with, was third.

Esplin was impatient. Very impatient. He swam around in circles, over and over.

He was beginning to grind Tarak's last nerve.

"Stop that," Tarak said sharply. "You are making me nervous."

"I can't help it," Esplin protested. "I'm nervous too. Your turn, Tarak."

It was indeed Tarak's turn. Esplin watched enviously as Tarak slithered into the Gedd's ear.

Esplin swam in ever-tighter circles as Tarak began to connect to the aged Gedd's brain.

As soon as Tarak understood the sense of sight, he noticed Esplin.

"I rrr-told him to stop going in cirrrrcles," Tarak said to himself.

Tarak decided to try out his three-fingered Geddish hands.

Esplin felt something close around him and pick him up.

"Aaaaaaahhh! Tarak, if that's you, I'll kill you for this!"

Of course, Tarak couldn't hear him. He laughed. "Hrrr-hrrr-hrrrr."

Esplin's Yeerkish instincts were going crazy. No water! Out in the open!

All of a sudden, he was falling.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU, TARAK!!!"

Spuh-LOOOOSHH!

The impact startled Esplin. Suddenly he was back in the pool.

"I'm going to KILL YOU!" he repeated.

"Hrrrr-hrr-HRRRR!" Tarak laughed again, although he still couldn't hear his friend.

"Tarrrrak," Janath 429 said, "you are not rrr-supposed to be doing that."

"I was rrr-only having fun."

Janath shook his head. "Yourrrr time is up."

Tarak left the Gedd.

"I am going to kill you," Esplin said. Again.

"Your turn, Esplin."

"I am going to do that to you, you annoying parasite."

"_I _am the annoying parasite? And _you_ are ... "

"I am GOING to KILL you."

Tarak couldn't hear the last words because Esplin had slithered into the Gedd's ear.

Esplin didn't notice when Tarak swam away.

* * *

Esplin forgot all about Tarak as he began to experience the shock and wonder of infesting a host for the first time.

Meanwhile, Tarak was at the opposite end of the pool.

When Esplin's fifteen minutes were up, he crawled out of the Gedd's ear. "Tarak?" he called. "Tarak, where did you go?"

"Esplin," Hekliss 8275 said. Hekliss was Esplin's older sister.

"Oh. Hello, Hekliss."

"Have you done training yet?" Hekliss asked.

"I just did."

"I had it yesterday," Hekliss informed him. "It was scary."

"It was?"

"I didn't like it at all at first. But then I got used to it, and then it wasn't so bad. In fact, it was fascinating. Almost enjoyable."

" 'Almost'? Hekliss, you're insane."

"Most of the other Yeerks I have talked to found it frightening as well," Hekliss said defensively. "Some even said it was awful."

"Then they're insane too. Where's Tarak?"

"I picked him up on sonar a few minutes ago. He was heading across the pool as fast as he could go. I asked him why, but he didn't hear me."

"Oh, he was just scared that I was going to kill him."

"Were you?"

"Yes, but I forgot."

"Tarak was fortunate then."

"Yes," Esplin grumped.

* * *

It didn't take long for Esplin to find Tarak.

"There you are," Tarak said. "You didn't come looking for me."

"I forgot to kill you," Esplin explained. "Because that was so — "

"Weird?" Tarak filled in.

"Yes. It was weird. But it was also ... I can not wait to get my own host!"

"I can't either. It was frightening at first, though."

"Frightening? How can something that wonderful be frightening?"

"Wonderful? I thought it was exciting, but _wonderful_? It was _weird_."

"I wish there were more Gedd hosts."

"Yes. Me too."

"I have talked to my sister, Hekliss. She found the experience frightening as well. Other Yeerks said it was awful. My opinion is, they are crazy."

"_They_ are the crazy ones? What about _you_?"

"I am perfectly sane."

"Perfectly _in_sane," Tarak muttered.

Esplin ignored his last comment.

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So … what do you think? Review! See … this story has NO reviews cuz this is the first chappie! Unless someone already read this chappie and reviewed.

Freakish Geddish … I like that.

I'm getting yelled at to get off now. Just review. Please. Pretty please?

-Salad Shooter *is too lazy to make the little HB head thing*


	2. Discovery

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Yes, it's summer now, I should be posting more … Sue me. I'm lazy.

Hey, I only have ONE review! More reviews equals more story more sooner. Yeah, it's incorrect. Sue me again.

Yes, I am slightly grumpy. It's 6:26 in the morning and I can't sleep. So … I'm posting.

Burrowed Lurker-The only other places I post at are the message boards at Jake's Animorphs Site and . If that's what you're talking about, then yes, I am. As for the Yeerks having human personalities … I kind of did that on purpose. I'm trying to portray the more "human" sides of the Yeerks. If that makes any sense. However, I agree with you: FFnet is VERY EVIL! *glares at computer*

Like my computer has any say in what FFnet does.

Waaaaa! It's too earlyyy!

Just read the fic, all right? And REVIEW!

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Chapter 2

Esplin was slightly weirded out. He wanted to do it again, he wanted so badly to do it again ... but he couldn't. A Yeerk only took "training" once. Then he had to wait until he got his own host.

And host bodies were reserved for only those Yeerks that were the most fit, the most useful. Esplin was determined to get a host, yet wondered what he could do to be regarded as useful.

He swam away and fired echolocation clicks. He picked up many Yeerks, the sides of the pool, and the interface that allowed hostless Yeerks to access the Andalite ship's computer. The computer ... He wondered whether the it would hold something that would make him fit for a host. He accessed the link and began to go through the data banks.

He stayed there for days until he found it. An Andalite saying: ‹Know your friends well. Know your enemies better.›

_There it is_, he thought.

He would study the Andalites. He would come to know more about them than any other Yeerk.

And he began to load up his brain with every last Andalite file in the computer.

* * *

Tarak was annoyed.

Esplin had not left the computer interface for months. He was obsessed with it.

It bothered Tarak. He had not spoken to Esplin for a long time.

He was puzzling over it when the message came. "Esplin 9466 to the infestation pier."

"What?" Tarak asked the Yeerk who'd delivered it.

"I _said_, Esplin 9466 to the infestation pier."

"I heard you," Tarak said grumpily. He knew exactly where Esplin was.

Tarak swam over to the computer. "Andalite-lover," he mocked. "Esplin 9466 to the infestation pier."

"What?" Esplin said, finally pulling away.

"This routine again. I _said_, Esplin 9466 to the infestation pier!"

"I know. I heard you."

Tarak was now simultaneously annoyed and amused.

Esplin headed toward the pier. His mind was whirling. A host body! Finally! He'd heard there was a new species to try. Three creatures had been brought aboard the ship. Evidently one was to become his host.

He tried to hide his excitement. It didn't work. The Yeerks around him sensed it and knew what was going on.

He crawled into the creature's ear.

* * *

The now-familiar excitement set in as Esplin tried out the creature's senses. He moved the limbs. He looked through the memories. He marveled at the strength of his new host.

Suddenly — _Get out! Get out!_

The creature was mentally yelling at him.

It startled Esplin. The Gedd had not been like this. No, this mind was stronger ...

* * *

The Hork-Bajir named Khar Guran screamed. He had never experienced anything like this. The monsters from Father Deep — the small, strange, new monsters — had taken him and two other Hork-Bajir to this strange place.

Now there was something in his head. Khar could feel it. ‹Get out!› Khar kept yelling. Get out!›

‹Scream all you like,› the thing replied.

Khar was surprised. It — he — was alive.

‹You belong to me now.›

Khar kept trying. ‹Out of my head! Go back to water! My head is mine!›

Khar tried to run. But he could no longer move his legs. He could not move at all. He felt something else moving his own body. ‹Get out! Or I make you get out!›

The creature in his head laughed. ‹Threaten me? What will you do? Your body is mine now! Your eyes are mine! Your limbs are mine!›

Khar sensed the excitement of the creature. _He is happy_, Khar noted. _Why_? Khar was afraid and angry, and the creature's good mood was not helping him at all.

"Well, Esplin-Nine-Four-Double-Six, rrrr-what do you-rrr think?"

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REVIEW!

Man, I have got to have the most irregular sleeping patterns in the world. I slept twelve hours the night before last. I never sleep that long! And I never get up at 5:45 AM voluntarily … but I did.

So, after playing Minesweeper for a little while, I am posting. *nods*

Yes, Minesweeper.

REVIEW!

-Salad Shooter *is STILL too lazy to make the little HB head thing*


	3. Preparation

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See? I got three more reviews, so I updated two days later. I would have updated one day later except my four-year-old sister has turned into a computer hog.

Psyco101 – No one beat you. And no one reviewed after you. I still have four. And the reason it seems a lot like HBC is it basically _is_ HBC, only from omnipotent-third-person POV. I'm trying to let you see into the characters-that-weren't-very-important-in-HBC-'s minds, as well as what Esplin was thinking when he wasn't narrating HBC. And, telling you stuff about Esplin that he would never tell you himself. Blagh … that was a mouthful. If you are confused, don't worry, so am I.

And will a nice reviewer please tell Psyco what the prologue was all about so I don't have to tell him myself?

Please don't tell me no one got the prologue.

Tell me if you got the prologue, please!

Anyway.

hybridphoenix – Thank you. *bows* *sticks an "I'm special!" sticker to hybridphoenix's shirt* Now you have more. Enjoy.

Nightcrawler – Yeah, I didn't want to have to do "1. Prologue" and then "2. Chapter One" and so on. Besides, it makes the first chapter longer, which makes it not so bad when subsequent chapters are shorter.

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Chapter 3

"Well, Esplin-Nine-Four-Double-Six, rrrr-what do you-rrr think?"

It took Esplin a minute to realize that a Gedd-Controller was talking to him. He looked around.

Akdor 1154 and Janath 429 were looking at him. "I rrr-asked rrr-what you think," Akdor repeated. "You study-rrr the rrr-Andalites. Can this body be rrrrr-used to fight the rrr-Andalites?"

Esplin looked at the blades on his new host body. He imagined fighting an Andalite as one of these creatures. "Yes. These creatures will be our weapons."

"Then rrrr-we will take this-rrr species. We will make them ourrrrrs. This rrr-planet is wherrrre we make ourrr stand! On this planet rrr-we will build the foundations of a true Yeerrrrk empirrrre!"

No one said anything for a few seconds.

"So, what arrrre these crrrreatures called?" Janath wanted to know.

Esplin rummaged through the creature's — Khar Guran's — memories. It didn't take long before he found what he was looking for.

"They call themselves Hork-Bajir, Akdor," he told them. "Hork-Bajir."

* * *

Two days later Tarak was given one of the new Hork-Bajir host bodies.

Esplin watched as Tarak became used to the new host. When it looked like Tarak had the Hork-Bajir under control, Esplin said, "Tarak."

Tarak listened for the source of the sound. Then he looked around.

"Tarak," Esplin said impatiently, "I'm talking to you."

Tarak finally turned to look at him.

"So, what do you think? Excellent blades."

"Yes," Tarak agreed, looking down at his own blades.

"We are going to use this species to fight the Andalites."

Tarak smiled. "They would definitely work well for that. Who are you?"

Esplin was surprised. "Who _am_ I? You don't recognize me?"

"No, I don't. I can't _see_ you; you're in that Hork-Bajir head."

Esplin gave Tarak a mock-hurt look.

Suddenly recognition set in. "Esplin-Nine-Four-Double-Six?" Tarak asked.

"Yes," Esplin replied, grinning.

* * *

Carger 7901 was impatient. He had just been ordered to get Esplin 9466 the primary twin and go to the docking area just behind the bridge.

He found Esplin over by the infestation pier. "Esplin."

He observed Tarak 9375 rolling his eyes. Carger knew that neither Esplin nor Tarak liked him. Frankly, he didn't care. Until now. He wondered if Esplin would listen to him — but no, they were orders. Esplin wouldn't disobey a direct order, especially such a minor one.

Would he?

"Esplin," Carger repeated. "Come with me."

"Why?" Esplin demanded.

"Don't ask questions. Just come."

Esplin followed Carger to the docking area, where three Gedd-Controllers were waiting.

One was Akdor. "Rrr-we have just rrrrreceived an interrrcept coming from the surrrrface below."

Carger looked at Esplin. Both of them were confused. The Hork-Bajir were a primitive species, so Akdor couldn't have picked it up from them.

"An rrr-_Andalite_ broadcast," Akdor clarified.

Carger and Esplin immediately became more attentive.

"Therrrre is an rrr-Andalite outpost on the planet. Rrr-the brrrroadcast was not encoded. We believe there arrrre just fourrrr Andalites. They must be rrr-killed. Immediately, before they can discover ourrrr presence here."

Carger smiled, anticipating. "I would be honored to command the attack."

"No doubt you rrr-would." Akdor knew Carger too well. "But you are only going so that rrr-we can put those Hork-Bajirrrr bodies to use. We will attack from the rrr-Andalite fighter crrrraft. But if all four of the Andalites are not killed, you two will go after the survivorrrrs."

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Come on. Press the review button. It's not gonna bite you.

I will post sooner if you review!

~Salad Shooter *looks for the little HB head thing* `Ô› There it is.

Oh, I've been reading IEH (actually only The Collaboration), cause it's been a long time since I read any of it except the last chappie. Good grief … it's been so long it feels like someone else wrote it …

*sings* This time it really is the end! But not of the story. That would be bad … a three-chapter story.

~Salad Shooter `Ô›


	4. Inquiry

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Yes, I'm evil, I haven't been on here all summer, well, what do you expect when you have summer homework? Okay, so it was one little "Dialectical Journal," but see, I promised myself I wouldn't post anything here until it was completed, and I didn't get it completed until two days before school started again, and since then I've been reeeeeeeeeeally busy. Yes, I procrastinate, so sue me. Better yet, sue my English teacher. On second thought, don't, she's cool. Sue whoever came up with the idea of summer homework.

I'm just glad I don't have that new math teacher. His name is Mr. Visser, he enjoys torturing students with surprise tests, and he gives four pages of homework every night! And he's in room 1. Coincidence? _I think not!_

Okay, I'll shut up.

I'm currently bored with this story. I hope no one else is. It's probably because I'm impatient for the part where it really starts to get interesting … Fortunately, you don't know about that yet. Wait, now you do, I just told you. Argh.

Ah well, if you want to read it I have to post these chapters first, otherwise you won't completely understand it. So, here I go.

Psyco101 – Sorry. I get called "he" all the time. I've told A24 about four different times that I am not a male, and I still don't think he's got it. And I also get that stupid junk mail … ugh, I typed junk male at first. Yeah, like literally … lol … too many L's … la la la …

Nogard – It's not very hard, I'm just very lazy. And I've found it now. And the Yeerk has all the Hork-Bajir's memory and instincts! The Horkie knows how to grin! Humans preparing to play a game … hmm … well, that's kind of what it's like … sort of …

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Chapter 4 (sorry the last chapter was put as 4 … it was actually 3 … stupid comp … )

Esplin and Carger went aboard one of the two Andalite fighters that had docked with the transport.

The Gedd-Controller pilot undocked the fighter and increased speed. The two fighters circled the planet for half an orbit, then approached the planet surface, staying in formation the whole time. They slowed their descent inches above the treetops.

"Pilot," Esplin said. "My studies of Andalite methods reveal that this ship possesses a visual augmentation device."

The pilot snorted. "We know ourrrr ship." He activated the viewscreen.

The viewscreen showed an Andalite scoop, with three Andalites.

The adrenaline flowed through Carger's Hork-Bajir body. "Looking the wrong way," he mocked. "Look up and see your death!"

The Gedd-Controllers laughed.

Esplin's system was flooded with adrenaline as well, but for a different reason. "I see three Andalites, not four."

Carger shrugged. "The fourth is probably inside the scoop."

"No," Esplin protested. "Andalites never take shelter unless they must. In the depth of a cold night, or to avoid harsh weather, or to fend off an attack. Or when they must serve aboard spacecraft. Andalites are creatures of the open spaces. They hate being confined in any way. They become nervous and afraid if they don't have large areas in which to run."

"You are quite the Andalite-lover, Esplin."

"I will kill more Andalites if I know their habits," Esplin said defensively.

"Shredderrrr powered. Tarrrget rrr-acquired," the pilot announced.

"There are only three Andalites in view," Esplin repeated. "Wait till the fourth one joins them."

Carger was annoyed. "Wait? Fool. Shoot!"

Esplin jerked. _He_ would be the one to shoot? "No! The remaining Andalite will see the — "

"I said shoot!" Carger yelled. "That is a direct order from your sub-visser! Shoot! Kill them now!"

_No choice_, Esplin decided. He fired.

TSEEEWWWW!

TSEEEWWWW!

He fired again!

TSEEEWWWW!

TSEEEWWWW!

The Andalite scoop exploded. All the Yeerks could see was bright flashes.

"Again!" Carger yelled.

TSEEEWWWW!

TSEEEWWWW!

Carger peered at the viewscreen. At the image of the burning scoop. Straining to catch a glimpse of the Andalites burning. But no, they had vaporized in the first shredder blast.

Esplin paused, silently observing Carger.

"Fine, be that way," Esplin muttered finally. He fired again and again.

* * *

"That's rrr-enough," the Gedd pilot said.

"What about the fourth Andalite?" Esplin demanded.

"You and Carrgerrr will go after it. Rrr-kill it."

"He knows we are here now," Esplin said. "If you had only waited — "

"He is one Andalite. We are many," Carger said. "It will be easy to find him and kill him."

"I know more about the Andalites than you do," Esplin shot back.

"What's done is rrr-done," the Gedd pilot said. "We will-rrr land. You two may rrrr-then disembarrrrrk."

* * *

It was not long before Esplin and Carger spotted the Andalite.

_She's only a female child_, Carger realized, surprised. _This should be easy_.

"There!" Esplin said.

"Do we ambush them?" Carger wondered.

"No." Esplin knew it was impossible to sneak up on an Andalite, who can see in all directions at once. "We run up to them and attack directly."

"On my signal ... Now!"

They took off toward the Andalite.

* * *

"Do not fear, brothers," the Hork-Bajir who accompanied the Andalite said.

"Oh, we're not afraid," Esplin said. He walked up to the Hork-Bajir and struck!

Ssslash!

The Hork-Bajir looked confused. _Good for him_, Esplin thought.

"Why did you — "

Before the Hork-Bajir could finish his sentence, Esplin struck again.

"Forget him, get the Andalite!" Carger yelled, leaping at her.

"What?" The Hork-Bajir looked increasingly puzzled.

"Ignore the stupid one, help me get the Andalite!" Carger screamed at Esplin. "She cut me!"

Reluctantly Esplin left the Hork-Bajir and began to attack the Andalite.

Both Hork-Bajir-Controllers circled her. They moved in, forcing her against a tree trunk. They kept slashing.

Without warning they leaped! The Andalite's tail whipped madly, hurting the Yeerks, yet not seriously injuring them.

She stumbled and fell.

"Die, Andalite filth!" Carger shrieked.

Esplin heard something behind him. He whirled, but too late. The Hork-Bajir was on his back. His wrist blade flashed ... Esplin felt a sudden, sharp pain ... he fell ...

He saw Carger running away. "Carger, you coward!" Esplin yelled. He looked around helplessly. Suddenly he spotted two Gedd-Controllers, wielding Dracon beams.

"Run?" the Hork-Bajir asked.

The Andalite bent over until she was face-to-face with Esplin. ‹Whatever your name is, Yeerk, go tell your masters: First your treason destroyed my father, and then you murdered him and my entire family. But you will not have this planet. We are the Andalites, you parasite worm. And we'll see you all dead. You and your entire filthy race. Tell your masters that.›

The Gedds were getting closer. She ignored them. ‹The daughter of Seerow will show you the other side of the Andalite character.›

Then she and the other Hork-Bajir ran away.

* * *

Carger ran away from the Andalite and the Hork-Bajir as soon as the Hork-Bajir joined the fight and Esplin was down. Two — one being an Andalite — against one? He would most certainly die.

But when Gedd reinforcements came to help, Carger wasted no time in running after the Andalite and the Hork-Bajir. They had run when they'd noticed the Gedds.

The Yeerks lost them. Then spotted them again. The Andalite and the Hork-Bajir were racing toward the blue mist the Hork-Bajir called "Father Deep."

Carger and the Gedds raced after them. Other Yeerks, in Andalite fighters, fired their Dracon beams at the Andalite and her friend.

Carger's Hork-Bajir host screamed as they plunged into Father Deep. ‹No! Monsters in Father Deep! Hork-Bajir go in Father Deep, never come back!›

‹Oh, shut up,› Carger replied.

One of the Gedds — Arklan 2599 the secondary — crept closer and closer to the Andalite's Hork-Bajir companion. He fired!

TSEEEEWW!

"Rrrr-aaarrrgghh!" Arklan cried. "Rrr-aaarrr arrrgghh!"

The other Gedds aimed their shredders.

"Don't fire those shredders, you fools," Carger said, annoyed at Arklan's stupid mistake. "Can't you hear Arklan screaming?"

‹Two Gedds and you, Hork-Bajir-Controller, against the two of us? Without your shredders, you don't have the guts,› the Andalite sneered.

Carger nodded. "The shredders will be safe enough up close." He turned to the Gedd-Controllers. "Wait till we are within five feet, then fire!"

The Controllers ran wildly at the Andalite. The Hork-Bajir slammed into one of the Gedds.

"Rrrrrrr!" the Gedd grunted.

Carger bent over the Hork-Bajir. He felt sick excitement well up within him.

_You are mine, you poor, stupid Hork-Bajir_, Carger thought.

All of a sudden something closed around him. Hands! Two three-fingered hands, lifting him up.

‹I tell you about monsters! But you not hear!› Carger's host cried.

All of a sudden he was in the dark. The air around his face felt weirdly hot and moist.

Instantly he realized it: His head was in a mouth.

Sharp teeth pierced the skin on his neck. Carger opened his mouth to scream —

Several hours later, the other Yeerks came looking for Esplin. When he was found, Gedd-Controllers dragged him onto the nearest fighter.

They took him up to the Yeerk pool on transport ship. He left Khal Guran and slithered into the Yeerk pool.

He was interrogated via the computer interface. ‹Where did the Andalite girl go?›

‹I don't know,› Esplin replied.

‹How many Hork-Bajir were with her?›

‹Only one.›

‹What happened to Carger?›

‹He ran away.› _The coward_, Esplin added silently. Beyond that, I don't know.›

He was interrogated more. He learned what had happened to Carger, and to the Hork-Bajir and the Andalite.

He learned that the Yeerks had assumed that since most of the Controllers who had entered Father Deep had not survived.

‹Just because some Gedds were killed, just because Carger was killed, that does not mean the Andalite died,› Esplin protested.

‹Do you mean to imply that an Andalite girl is stronger, braver, more resourceful than our own warriors?›

‹Yes. _Yes_. The Andalites did not become the dominant species in this part of the galaxy by being weak or stupid or cowardly.›

No one listened. Esplin was indignant. After all, he was the one who knew about the Andalites than any other Yeerk. He swam off, not happy at all.

* * *

A few days later, he took a new Hork-Bajir host. This one was named Fet Mashar.

Akdor, now a Hork-Bajir-Controller as well, informed him, "We have sent strong, armed parties into the blue mist. The monsters are real. They have killed more of us. We found the bodies of the others. We searched for the body of the Andalite, but did not find it."

_What did I tell you_, Esplin thought.

"It seems you were right, Esplin-Nine-Four-Double-Six. Now you will go back to the surface. You will find this Andalite. You will destroy her."

"Yes, Akdor, I will," Esplin lied. An idea was slowly taking shape in his mind. "And if I do, what will be my reward?"

"You will be made a sub-visser. How many troops will you need?"

"None, Akdor. I will go as a spy, not a conqueror. I will pass as a Hork-Bajir. I will find the Andalite. And I will kill her."

Esplin thought through his plan one more time. "I will take care of this matter, Akdor," he said truthfully. "I will deal with the Andalite."

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Like I have said before … REVIEW!

~Salad Shooter `Ô


	5. Seeking

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Here I am, posting again since I have nothing better to do …

Psyco101 – Wellp, here's the next chappie! Enjoy!

D. H. L'Orange – Your name is cool … reminds me of that song I had to play for a band test called "March Of The Three Oranges" … okay, that was off topic … yes, this is basically a biography of Esplin. Except where he narrated in HBC cause we already knew what was going on with him … so I get into the heads of minor characters, which is always fun …

Nogard – Cool and interesting? Good. It was intended to be so. ;)

I'm obsessing over the little dots again … okay, here's the story …

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"I am back," Esplin announced to the Hork-Bajir.

One of them looked up from his bark-stripping. "Yes, you are back," he said, suspecting nothing.

"Do you know of the Andalites?" Esplin demanded.

"Yes. They are strange. Different. Not like Hork-Bajir. They come from Mother Sky."

"Which Hork-Bajir has been with the Andalites the most?"

"Dak Hamee, seer. And his friend, Jagil Hullan."

"Where are they?"

"Dak Hamee is with the Andalite. I not know where Jagil is."

"The Andalite. The one Dak Hamee is with. What is her name?"

"Aldrea. I not remember her other names."

With this information, Esplin returned to the newly constructed Yeerk pool on the planet surface.

* * *

Akdor looked around the Yeerk pool. The_ Jiss Nawin_ pool. Things were working well. More Hork-Bajir hosts were being captured every day.

Very few Yeerks were guarding it. The Hork-Bajir were too stupid to know that this place was a danger to them. No one would attack.

Or so Akdor thought.

Akdor glanced over at Esplin and his twin brother. They were discussing something.

Suddenly —

"Aaarrgghh! Aaahhh! Help! Help!"

"Yaahhh!" Tarak 9375 yelped. He was one of the few guards on duty. "Esplin, look!"

Akdor looked into the trees. He did not see anything.

Wait — no, there was something. A lot of somethings — Hork-Bajir. Hork-Bajir accompanied by a variety strange, twisted monsters. And — an Andalite!

"We're under attack!" Akdor yelled.

Akdor noticed Esplin the primary just staring at the Andalite.

"Esplin! Stop staring and do something!" his twin brother hissed.

The Andalite made a break for a parked fighter.

Akdor heard Esplin say, "I'll take care of it." He raced after the Andalite.

Esplin would deal with the Andalite. The other Yeerks would battle the line of huge, freakish beasts behind them.

"ATTACK!" Akdor yelled.

TSEEEW!

* * *

Meanwhile, Esplin had discovered Aldrea attempting to use the ship's communicators.

"I don't think I can allow you to call for help, Aldrea, daughter of Seerow," Esplin said as he knocked her down.

He pinned her to the floor with his Hork-Bajir talon. "Computer. Terminate communication."

‹Communication terminated,› the computer replied in a thought-speak monotone.

Esplin glared down at Aldrea, even as his two hearts beat faster and faster with excitement. "You've caused a lot of trouble, Andalite. Your friends are busily butchering my people out there."

‹Go ahead. You want to kill me. Go ahead!› Aldrea yelled.

"Kill you? No, no, no. Not me. I don't want to kill you. I want to make you my host. I will be the first Andalite-Controller ever. I will have complete access to your every secret, to all the scientific and technical knowledge you possess. See, I've studied you Andalites. I admire you."

He gazed down at her with a half-smile. Then — WHUMPF!

‹Argghhh!› Aldrea yelled. He had delivered a swift kick to her side.

"Terribly sorry, but I need you to stay put. I'm going to power up this fighter and use its shredders to cut down your little army of DNA mistakes."

Esplin began to power up the shredders. He thought about infesting Aldrea first. But no, that would take a few minutes, and by then, who knew?

He used the maneuvering thrusters to aim at the monsters. He laughed. Oh, he'd get a major promotion for this. First, destroying the monsters. Second, becoming the first Andalite-Controller.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his Hork-Bajir eye —

"Aaahhh!" Esplin yelped.

The Andalite was no longer completely Andalite. She was bigger. She looked kind of like — like one of the monsters?

What was happening?

‹I don't guess you Yeerks know about this bit of new technology yet,› Aldrea said, almost laughing.

"What are you doing?" Esplin demanded, hearts racing.

‹What am I doing? Destroying you, Yeerk. This is for my brother. For my mother. And for my _father_.›

Esplin struggled wildly.

Then everything went black.

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REVIEW!

~Salad Shooter `Ô›


	6. Assault

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Chapter 6

"Esplin! Wake up. There are about six monsters headed this way. Six ... _large_ ... monsters."

"Unh ... wha ... ?" Esplin wondered.

"Esplin-Nine-Four-Double-Six!! RUN!!!" Tarak screamed.

Esplin opened his eyes, dazed. What had just happened? Oh. Aldrea. Then why ... why wasn't he dead yet? Why hadn't she killed him?

He tried to stand up. He looked around. He saw Tarak and a few other Hork-Bajir-Controllers. Running. Why were they running? Why were —

"Aaaaahhh!" Esplin was fully awake now. He took off.

"Aaaaahhh!" Tarak repeated, running after him.

They ran up into the trees. The monsters tried to follow, but the Hork-Bajir were faster in the trees.

When they were sure they were no longer being followed, they stopped to catch their breath. "That — was — close," Esplin observed, panting.

"Yes, it was."

* * *

"Andalite ships!"

Esplin's head whipped around. He and Tarak were guarding the Yeerk pool again. Since that first attack, Yeerk security had become extremely tight. All Yeerks had been forced to spend large amounts of time guarding the pool.

"What?" Tarak asked.

Esplin rolled his eyes. "Not the time, Tarak."

Tarak appeared not to hear.

"We have Andalite ships attacking our ships in orbit!"

"What?" Tarak demanded.

"You heard me, Sub-Visser Thirteen. You and you to that fighter. Sub-Visser Twelve?"

"Yes?" Esplin said. He and Tarak had both been recently promoted.

"You and Alahar-Seven-Eight-Six-Five to the fighter stationed by the pool."

* * *

"We have multiple contacts, Sub-Visser Twelve."

Alahar 7865 looked over and saw Esplin 9466 smiling to himself. Alahar didn't bother to wonder why. His sub-visser was often hard to figure out.

"The Blade ship says they see the Andalites. Visser Four's orders are for all fighters to attack!"

Esplin made a face and groaned. "Of course those are his orders. Let the Andalites chew up the fighters and then he can come in with his Blade ship, finish the battle, and claim all the glory."

Alahar wasn't listening, but he caught the mood. "Andalites ... Is it true they control their ships with their thoughts?"

He hadn't expect an answer, but Esplin said, "The Andalites are very advanced, very powerful, very determined. But they are not unbeatable. Prepare to go to full space normal speed. On my signal ... NOW!"

Alahar powered the engines. Normally the lower-ranking Yeerk took weapons, while the higher-ranking one was stationed at the helm. But Esplin had specifically asked to control the weapons.

Again, Alahar hadn't wondered. That was fine with him.

"Be ready," Esplin said, jerking Alahar out of his thoughts. "The Andalites will close to within five thousand meters. Then they will break formation and attempt to dive beneath us so they can shoot upward into our bellies."

Alahar peered at the viewscreen as the fighter rocketed toward the Andalites. The Andalite ships raced toward the Yeerks.

SHWWWOOOOOM!

The formation of Andalite ships broke. Yet Alahar was prepared, on account of Esplin's advice.

Esplin fired!

TSEEEEW! TSEEEEW!

BOOM!

The Andalite fighter blew up!

"Yes!" Esplin hissed. "Now do you see? They are not unbeatable."

Alahar smiled and checked the casualty readout. "Two of our Bug fighters destroyed," he informed Esplin.

"Bring the ship around, but take us out of this orbit. Take us down a few miles. Let's see if we can draw the Andalites within range of our ground bases."

Alahar was feeling pretty good until he checked the viewscreen again. "We have an Andalite fighter on our tail!"

He sped up the fighter's descent. Yet the Andalite stayed with them.

The Andalite fired!

TSEEEEW! TSEEEEW!

He missed. Alahar steered the fighter on a zigzag path, attempting to lose the Andalite.

TSEEEEW! TSEEEEW!

"Ahhh! Ahhh!" Alahar cried instinctively. "We've been hit! We've been hit!"

"Give me a damage report, you coward!"

Alahar bristled at the insult. Then he tried to gather his bearings and scanned for damage readings. "Um ... um ... left Dracon beam is out. Right side is still working."

"Take us down ... down to treetop level and head north along the valley," Esplin ordered.

Alahar did so. It was difficult maneuvering the fighter that close to the planet surface, but there was no way he was going tell the sub-visser that.

The Andalite was still behind them. He aimed —

TSSSSSEEEEEEEEEWWWWWW!

The ground-based Dracon cannon had fired. The right side of the Andalite fighter exploded. The remaining left side crashed into a tree.

"Take us back up!" Esplin yelled excitedly.

Alahar obeyed. His earlier panic was gone now, and he was beginning to catch some of Esplin's excitement.

"I'm not showing _any_ Andalite ships now," he announced.

"They've run!"

"Yes. I'm showing four disabled or destroyed Andalite ships. Seven of ours. Still almost two-to-one for them."

"So it is," Esplin agreed. "But unless they bring reinforcements very quickly, it will be enough."

* * *

Later, Esplin heard that one of the fighters that had been shot down by the Andalites was the same one that his twin brother and Tarak had been in. The fighter had been close to the planet surface when it had gone down, but no one had searched for the its occupants yet.

Esplin went to survey the wreckage. He found two Hork-Bajir lying not far from the damaged Bug fighter. Esplin the secondary was regaining conciousness.

Esplin the primary went over to Tarak and shook him. "Tarak? Esplin? Are you all right?"

"Um ... " Tarak said, beginning to wake up, " ... I think." He looked around dizzily. "I believe my arm bone is broken."

"I think I damaged my Hork-Bajir leg," Esplin's brother said, almost fully alert now.

"Can you walk?" Esplin the primary wanted to know.

His twin tried to stand, not succeeding. "No."

"Okay. Leave your host. I will place you in this." Esplin the primary produced the container of water he had brought with him.

Esplin the secondary complied.

Esplin the primary twin looked at Tarak impatiently. "Come on. Back to the pool. You will both get new host bodies. Hurry up, Tarak."

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Again I say, REVIEW!

~Salad Shooter `Ô›


	7. Blunder

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Wow, I'm doing good! Updating reasonably quickly! Ah … this school year is so easy compared to last year … except for those darn long-term projects.

DH L'Orange – Hey cool, two reviews from the same person! I have been rewarded for posting two chapters at once! As for what I play … I play flute in concert band, piccolo in marching band, and keyboard in Jazz Band. The test was for flute. Thanx … I really try to get Esplin's personality down perfectly, since he is my favorite character and all. Of course I add my own twists, but it all fits with his personality in the books … I hope. And no, he will not be promoted yet because he wasn't promoted in HBC. Probably knocking out two fighters isn't enough to get promoted, otherwise the ranks would be changing like crazy. However … if he consistently knocks out Andalite fighters, he might be promoted. Wow, this is a long, rambling paragraph. Hope you can understand it all. :P

Tabatha – Don't worry, I will. I just want to keep it consistent with the books. The HBC part is almost over, though. After this chapter, HBC doesn't say much more about what happened to Esplin, so I will start "branching out".

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Chapter 7

Esplin peered at the sensor readout. The Andalite girl was there! With her friend, the Hork-Bajir called Dak Hamee. She was morphing to Hork-Bajir.

Yes. Now was the time to do it.

As soon as Tarak and Esplin the lesser got new Hork-Bajir host bodies, Esplin requested their help. He didn't tell them what he had in mind. They would find out.

Tarak said, "Yes, I will. Someone has to come along and protect you."

"_You_? Protect ME?! I _don't_ think so, Tarak-Nine-Three-Seven-Five." Esplin was mad at Tarak for saying that, mad at Tarak for trying to make him mad, mad at himself for getting mad and letting Tarak have the satisfaction of making him mad, and just generally mad. "You're coming along to, uh, help me with the Andalite girl."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see," Esplin said, deliberately being mysterious. "Our sensors have detected the Andalite and her friend, the Hork-Bajir seer."

"Is anyone else coming?" Tarak wanted to know.

"Esplin the secondary, Hekliss ... a few other trusted Yeerks. Come on."

"Look!" Tarak whispered. "She's changing! The Andalite is turning into a ... a Hork-Bajir!"

"Oh, did I forget to mention this new technology the Andalites have?"

"Es-_plin_ ... "

Esplin grinned. Tarak could not make him mad now. He was going to be the first Andalite-Controller, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Tarak, on the other hand, _was_ annoyed. "You are unusually happy. Why?"

"You'll see," Esplin said again.

Aldrea was now fully Hork-Bajir. Esplin and Tarak and the other Hork-Bajir were at the base of the tree she and Dak Hamee were in.

"Wait till they come down to the ground," Esplin ordered.

As soon as Aldrea and Dak reached the ground, the Hork-Bajir-Controllers surrounded them, aiming Dracon beams.

Esplin took a deep breath and stepped forward, Hork-Bajir hearts racing.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Esplin-Nine-Four-Double-Six. My rank is Sub-Visser Twelve, although with this triumph I think my rank is very, very likely to be elevated. Ah yes, this will be a great success."

Realization set in on the other Yeerks as Esplin smiled at Aldrea.

"Enjoy it while you can, Yeerk," she replied defiantly. "You won't live long enough to see another promotion."

"We met before, of course," Esplin continued. "That was the first time I saw your morphing ability at work. This time I was able to watch from one of the many sensors we have strung through the trees. Very impressive. It will make owning an Andalite host all the more desirable. Take them!"

Four other Hork-Bajir-Controllers leaped at the Andalite-morphed-Hork-Bajir and Dak Hamee. They shackled their hands behind them.

One Yeerk kicked Dak.

"Careful with them," Esplin ordered sharply. "Those are our bodies. We don't want them damaged."

He looked at the canister Aldrea had been holding and thought about opening it. He had no way of knowing what was inside, and yet he decided it was better to leave it closed. He let Tarak carry it.

"Esplin, Tarak. Come with me. The rest of you may leave."

The three Controllers took Aldrea and Dak Hamee to their Bug fighter. Esplin waited impatiently for the Blade ship, while his twin brother and Tarak kept Dracon beams trained on the two seeming-Hork-Bajir.

"Why not morph back to your own form?" Esplin finally asked Aldrea. "There is no point in trying to deceive me."

"I know what you want," Aldrea replied. "I'm not going to give it to you."

Esplin gave her a look. "You can't possibly stay in that form forever."

"Yes, I can. In fact, in an hour and a half, I'll have no choice. I'll be Hork-Bajir permanently."

"There's a time limit?"

"Yes. There is," Aldrea said with a triumphant look.

Apparently he wasn't going to get anywhere with this line of conversation. "What is in the canister?"

Dak Hamee spoke up for the first time. "Open it and see."

Esplin was dangerously close to becoming furious. "Oh, aren't we just the defiant young heroes? Very brave."

He walked over to Dak. Smiled at Aldrea. Kicked Dak twice.

_She still doesn't get it_, Esplin thought frustratedly as Dak Hamee groaned and fell on his beak.

"Demorph, Andalite." Esplin gave Aldrea a look.

Dak started to get up. "NO! Don't let him — " Esplin kicked him a third time, cutting him off.

"Demorph, Andalite," Esplin repeated, his frustration growing. "I don't want to bruise my foot hurting your friend. Just demorph. It doesn't matter. You will both become host bodies, like it or not. So why endure the pain?"

Then he realized. "Grab her. Hold her down! I don't need her to demorph. I can infest her now and then force her to demorph!" He laughed maniacally as the other two Yeerks held down the Andalite.

Esplin was breathing faster and faster as he lay down beside Aldrea.

"No!" Dak Hamee cried.

_Deal with it, Hork-Bajir_, Esplin said silently as he slithered out of Gah Fillat and into the ear of a Hork-Bajir who was no Hork-Bajir.

He strained to reach Aldrea's brain. Finally he felt the now-familiar tingling of electricity that meant he was making contact.

He saw the memories first. He went through as many as he could. They were so beautiful, so ...

‹Hello, Andalite!› he said brightly. ‹You are mine! My host! My slave!›

In response, Aldrea displayed a very graphic mental picture of what she wanted to do to him.

_All right, how about this?_ he thought as he opened up his mind to her. She would see what he thought about her. She would see the truth.

‹Yes, look into my mind, Andalite. Do you see who I am? Do you see that I am your master? Do you realize now that we will crush you, crush you all?›

Did she see what he wanted her to see?

Esplin searched for the sight centers. He opened one eye, taking in the surroundings. He looked for the part of the brain that controlled her morphing.

Then he realized.

‹Noooooooo!› he screamed. ‹Noooooooo!›

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**I'm noticing there are a lot of words that start with F in this chapter … they're all grouped together anyways …**

**Your new assignment: Count all the words beginning with F … then count all the clusters of three or more in one paragraph, or the space of one paragraph.**

**Anyway.**

**More fun is coming up … especially if I get a lot of lovely REVIEWS … *hint hint***

**~Salad Shooter `Ô**›


	8. Bafflement

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Hi, everyone, I'm back!

Just for the record … homework is evil and needs to die. Right now I SHOULD be doing an English paper … but I'm procrastinating … again … Instead I'm doing something else I SHOULD have done a while ago, which is post a new chappie.

~ Psyco101 – Okay, I have posted more. Finally. When did I post the last chapter? Wow … two months ago … I'm too lazy to look up the date exactly. I'm looking at the date on the first review for chapter 7 … and the date on the last review on chapter 6 wasn't too long before that and I know I responded to that review in chapter 7. Oh what the heck, I'm looking it up. Two months, and three days, ago. Yep. Too bad it doesn't post the times. Wow, looong response to a short review. Consider yourself special. :)

~ Tabatha – You'll see. I already have a lot written … just not posted … I don't think the book ever says they were killed *gets HBC* … I used to pretty much have the thing memorized *okay, still hasn't gotten HBC, NOW goes to get it.* Okay. Page 199 it talks about Aldrea being "slammed by the flying bodies of the Hork-Bajir-Controllers." On the next page Aldrea says "The two Hork-Bajir-Controllers are gone." Nothing about them dying. They just disappeared. Read the second chapter of Insanity Equals Happiness (The Companion – it's not just a chapter, it's an entire story) to see what happened to Tarak. In the chapter after this it explains what happened to the other Esplin.

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Chapter 8

Meanwhile, Gah Fillat had been watching as the thing that had been controlling him slithered into the other Hork-Bajir's ear.

The tail — if you could call it a tail — of the slug was still hanging out.

Gah Fillat was no seer. Yet he knew exactly what to do. He whacked the two other Hork-Bajir who were no longer Hork-Bajir. He grabbed the wet, grayish tail and yanked.

* * *

Esplin panicked.

There was no one to help him. Tarak and Esplin the secondary had been knocked unconscious. He was at the mercy of Dak Hamee, Aldrea, and Gah Fillat.

And yet — and yet the seconds passed, and he was still alive.

_Just get it over with! _he yelled silently.

Aldrea hadn't killed him before. It made sense that she probably wouldn't do it now. Gah Fillat was too stupid to know what to do. But what about Dak Hamee?

BOOOOM!

He was spinning, whirling, out of control, okay, _now_ he was going to die ... _thump_.

Not dead yet. Just dazed.

__

WHAM! BUMP!

Spinning again!

__

Thump! Thump! Splat! Thump!

He kept hitting things.

__

Shploot.

He hit something. There were a lot of thin, flat things around him — oh. Okay, it was grass.

He was outside the Bug fighter. Had they thrown him out? No, he would definitely have died. And he hadn't. Yet.

Now what? He was slowly dying of dehydration. Look for a stream or something. Yes, that was it.

Except for the fact that he couldn't see. Which was not helpful at all. He had no way of knowing if there was water around or not, since Hork-Bajir water had very little smell.

He decided to set off in one direction. If he hit water, good; if not, well, he was dead.

__

Splish!

He was in water!

_I don't like so much good luck_, he thought. Yet there was nothing he could do but hope for someone to find him and take him back to the pool. Hope for more good luck as he was carried downstream.

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****

Yes, short chapter, the next one will be posted shortly (npi). If you don't know what npi means, _ask_.

~Salad Shooter`Ô›


	9. Visser says please don't eat me!

**A/N: Hi, I'm back! I wanted to post again before now, especially since the last chapter was so short, but CERTAIN COMPUTER-HOGS have been, well, hogging the computer. Playing Spirit: Forever Free . I am getting so sick of that stupid game! (Well, that's because I've finished it . mostly . ) Okay, enough about my miserable life. AAAAAAHHH! I'M SO BORED! I've been waiting and waiting for Christmas Break because I am getting so bored with school, and now it's break and guess what? I'M BORED. Okay. I said, enough about my miserable life.**

Here's a chapter, and it's longer cuz I combined two really short chapters into one longer one.

FOR EVERYONE'S INFORMATION, NPI MEANS NO PUN INTENDED.

Wow, I am obsessed with typing in all caps today. Don't worry, I didn't do that in the story.

Psyco101 - Yes, I do need to post more. Tell that to my computer-hogging siblings.

Nogard - Well, I answered your question. And Psyco's. And I already said, this is a longer chapter. So I basically have nothing left to respond to your review with. But this response is five sentences long anyway (even if they're not all complete sentences). :)

Well, I don't want to make the author's note longer than the story, so here you are.  


-CHAPTER 9-

"I thought you were dead."

"I thought I was too," Esplin replied.

Hekliss 8275 glared at him. "That is not funny."

Esplin had been found. He now had a new Hork-Bajir host. His fourth one.

"No, it's not. Where's Tarak and Esplin?"

"Your twin was injured, but he made it back to the pool to tell us what happened. As for Tarak ... I don't know where he is. We've been searching, but haven't been able to find him."

"I'll find him," Esplin said.

* * *

"Tarak-Nine-Three-Seven-Five!" Esplin yelled upon seeing a familiar- looking bladed form.

"What?" the Hork-Bajir yelled back.

Yes, it was Tarak, once again making use of his favorite word.

"Everyone is looking for you."

"Who are you?"

Esplin gave Tarak a combination of his mock-hurt look and his Tarak-you're-an-idiot look. "Esplin-Nine-Four-Double-Six."

"Secondary?"

"No, primary."

"Wha - _primary? _But you - "

Esplin smiled at Tarak's reaction. "After being so rudely pulled from the Andalite's ear, I made my way to a stream. I don't know why no one stepped on me or anything. But I'm glad they didn't."

"Me too."

"Anyway. I got a new host, and we have to get off this planet."

"Why?"

"A Quantum virus, designed to attack Hork-Bajir, has been released by the Andalites."

"What?"

"Just shut up and come on!"

* * *

"Esplin! Come here," Tarak said.

They were on Visser Eight's Blade ship, and had been for a while. The Yeerks on the Blade ship had been popping into and out of Zero-space, looking for planets with potential host bodies.

Esplin was now Sub-Visser Seven. Tarak ranked slightly lower at Sub-Visser Ten.

"What is it?" Esplin asked.

"Viewscreen," Tarak said. "Look at that."

Esplin peered at the viewscreen. It had been magnified to show an unimpressive-looking planet. Large creatures crawled everywhere.

"They're like giant worms," Esplin said.

Tarak nodded. "The question is, will they make suitable host bodies?"

"Visser!" Esplin called. "Visser Eight, you should see this."

The visser came running. He immediately saw what the viewscreen displayed. "Diptran-Seven-Eight-Seven-Five!" he yelled to the Yeerk at the helm. "Set a course for that planet."

"Yes, Visser," Diptran replied.

* * *

The Blade ship landed.

"Open the hatch," Visser Eight ordered. "Diptran. Sensor readings."

Tarak opened the hatch and stepped out.

Suddenly -

"SKRRREEEEEEEEEEE!"

"Yaahhh!"

Esplin looked out the hatch. He saw Tarak backing away from one of the worms. It had been sliced open, presumably by Tarak. Its innards gushed out.

"Those worms," Tarak said, pointing. "Stay away from them."

"Tarak, they're everywhere," Esplin pointed out, exasperated.

"Sreee treeessweeww eeeeestreew," one worm informed them.

"Uh ... hello, worm," Tarak replied, sounding nervous.

"I have a universal translator pad," Esplin told him. I was intelligent enough to remember to bring it out, he added silently.

"We want to eat you," the pad announced in a monotone.

"Oh. That's ... lovely," Tarak said, obviously for lack of a better comment. "Esplin, I sure hope the pad's malfunctioning."

"We are the Taxxons," the worm continued. "Tell us what you are doing here, for we will not be able to restrain our appetites long."

"We can't understand them," Tarak said to Esplin. "They won't be able to understand us."

Esplin gave him the Tarak-you're-an-idiot-look again. "Tarak, they have ears. Would you like to be the first Taxxon-Controller?"

Tarak shuddered visibly. "Make the visser do it."

Esplin snorted. "Hah. Make the visser do it, eh? Tarak, are you insane? No one makes Visser Eight do anything."

"Fine," Tarak replied. He grabbed the nearest Taxxon and began to switch hosts.

"Or any visser, actually. And you are not going to do the same thing I did," Esplin said, although Tarak couldn't hear him. He kept Tarak's former host under guard.

All of a sudden —

"Yeeeeessssswwwwyeeeeennn!" Tarak shrieked. "Keeeeeewwwwtaaaa!"

Esplin jumped, startled.

Tarak skittered on Taxxon legs toward the visser, who had just come out with two other Hork-Bajir.

"Tarak! Get control of your host!" Visser Eight ordered.

"Ssssswweeeessseeeeerrr! Aaaaiiii — "

Ssslash!

"Skrrreeeeee!" Tarak yelped in pain. Visser Eight had removed two of his cone legs.

"Get control of your host, Tarak-Nine-Three-Seven-Five!" the visser barked.

"Sstwwaaaat!" Tarak said.

"What?"

Esplin looked at Tarak. "He wants the pad," he said tensely.

"You understood what he said?"

"No," Esplin replied helpfully, giving Tarak the pad.

"These creatures have an insane hunger," said the disembodied voice of the pad. "They will eat any creature, dead or alive. They can be used as host bodies, but they are" - Tarak hesitated - "unpleasant."

"Tarak, uh, tell the Taxxons we will give them food if they will agree to be made host bodies." Visser Eight looked at Tarak with a don't-you-dare-try-to-eat-me-again look.

Tarak hissed and sputtered. Neither Esplin nor the visser nor any of the other Yeerks knew what he was saying, but obviously the Taxxons understood.

"Seeeeeeerrrrrr!" they screeched enthusiastically.

"Can I return to my Hork-Bajir host?" Tarak said, through the pad.

"Yes," said Visser Eight emphatically. "I would very much prefer it if you did."

Two Hork-Bajir-Controllers kept the Taxxon under guard as Tarak transferred from the Taxxon to his former Hork-Bajir host body.

As soon as Tarak had full control of the Hork-Bajir, he walked over to Esplin and said, "That was unpleasant. But it was easy. Give them food and suddenly we have a few million more host bodies."

Esplin shuddered, not caring if Tarak saw. "I don't ever want one of those for a host. Not in a million years."

Tarak laughed. "You mean, if you get on my nerves you'll never get a Taxxon host? Which means, of course, you never will." He was trying to ease the nervousness everyone felt after the encounter with the nightmarish Taxxons, but his joke fell flat.

"That is not funny," Esplin said curtly. Something had scared him, looking into the Taxxon's eyes. And Esplin was seldom scared. Excited, yes; nervous, yes; scared, no. Yet it was like seeing through time. Like the Taxxon was only an echo of what might be.

What would be ...

___________________________

***More rants*: Now ffnet is being REALLY STUPID. It won't format even though this is a HTML document. And it doesn't do anything with HTML tags either. I AM GOING TO KILL IT! This is my FOURTH upload! And if by some miracle it finally formats, good for it.**

~Salad Shooter `Ô›  
**  
Now it's my fifth upload. I hate this stupid thing. Die computer die. Or site. Whichever is screwing up. I need to go to bed!!!**

~Salad Shooter `Ô›


	10. Incongruity

**A****/N: Hi, it's me again. In case you're wondering, I ended up uploading the last chapter a total of 5 times:**

**-Insane9**

**-Insane9improved**

**-Insane9letstrythisathirdtime**

**-Insane9thisonebetterwork**

**-Insane9ifthisonedoesntworkIamsuing**

**Yes, I WAS getting mad. Make that incredibly ticked off. I hope it works this time.**

**-Cathy: Thanks mucho. Compliments are always welcome. And you probably never saw it because is evil. *points to aforementioned unsuccessful chapter uploads***

**Now I've uploaded this one, and guess what it's doing? It mashed the paragraphs together, which I've seen happen in other stories. But it only did it with this author's note; the story was fine ... I typed fun instead of fine at first ... too many Fs ... is evil ... more Fs ... so is my sister . now too many Ss ... MAKE IT STOP!!!**

**oh look, another s.**

**Ahem. Anyway ... hey, now it's the attack of the As ...**

**I am not going to say another word.**

**Second upload didn't work. It's messing up my dots.**

**

* * *

  
**

CHAPTER 10

**_~Two Years Later~_**

"Esplin, I'm bored," Tarak complained.

"You're not the only one," Esplin told him. He surveyed the area. Nothing but Taxxons, Taxxons, and more Taxxons, as far as he could see, with the occasional ship.

"Sssrreewaaaaaa!" screamed a Taxxon.

Both Yeerks whirled around. "What in the world — oh."

A Taxxon fell from one of the mag-lev trains which now crisscrossed the Taxxon planet.

_Splat!_

He exploded like a dropped bag of water.

Esplin made a face. "There goes another Taxxon."

Tarak shuddered visibly as other Taxxons swarmed around their wounded brother.

Esplin understood. Tarak knew what it was like to be a Taxxon. He didn't. Still —

"Hold it! What? No way!" Esplin blinked. Yes! It was true!

"What?" Tarak asked.

"A Taxxon just ran away from the wounded Taxxon," Esplin explained.

"What?" Tarak said again. "That does not happen."

It could only mean one thing.

An Andalite.

Andalites on the Taxxon home world. And along with them, a second chance.

"Not with a normal Taxxon," Esplin agreed. "This one is unusual. And I believe I know why. Esplin!" he yelled. "Hekliss! Sub-Vissers Twenty-one, Twenty-five, and Nineteen! Over here. Come on, Tarak."

The Yeerks surrounded the Taxxon.

Esplin walked up to the Taxxon and gave the signal for the others to to aim their Dracon beams.

"Welcome to the Taxxon home world," he said brightly, trying to control his growing excitement. "I am Sub-Visser Seven. You interest me. Yes, indeed. I am very interested in any Taxxon who will not eat fresh meat."

Esplin led the Andalite-Taxxon and the other Yeerks to a mag-lev train car.

"Everyone off," he ordered its occupants. They obeyed. Esplin and the other Hork-Bajir-Controllers boarded the train car.

Esplin stared outside as they took off from the platform. He waited for a long time, while hundreds of disconnected but eager thoughts swirled in his brain.

Finally, he could take it no longer. "So, Andalite, how long have you been in this morph?"

"Ssssewwaari ssstwweeeshh," the Taxxon answered.

The Andalite was trying to make the Yeerks think he was a normal Taxxon. Well, it wouldn't work.

"Don't waste that snake-speak on me," Esplin warned, giving the Andalite-Taxxon a look. "If you're one of us, you'll be able to speak Galard."

The Taxxon didn't answer.

_Well, I'll play along, then, _Esplin decided. "So. You want to resist me? Good. I need the entertainment. It's rather dull, being in charge of security for this sector. I suppose you're one of the rebels. One of those mountain Taxxons who refuse to join the Empire. Well, we'll get to the truth quickly enough."

The train approached their destination - the mound where uninfested Taxxon allies were kept temporarily.

Now it was time to scare the Andalite. "Rebels are just fresh meat. But being a Taxxon, you understand. Any rebels we catch go to feed loyal Taxxons. It's sad, really. But I have no choice. It's one of the idiotic regulations I have to deal with. It's all part of our deal with the Taxxons: Any suspect Taxxon is turned over to loyal Taxxons for interrogation. Of course, Taxxons don't really interrogate. They don't have the patience for it. They ask one or two questions, then ... well, then it's dinnertime."

He paused, looking for the Andalite's reaction. The Taxxon body shuddered.

Esplin grinned. "Of course, you could tell me why you're here, and what your mission really is ... _Andalite_. You'll still be executed, of course. But I can make it painless. Much better than being eaten alive." He leaned over to the Andalite-Taxxon and began to whisper. "There is one other possibility. The Hork-Bajir body I use is fine, but there are millions of Hork-Bajir-Controllers now. And what are my other choices? To go back to being a Gedd? Or to take a Taxxon body? No thanks. I won't live with that Taxxon hunger."

Suddenly, it was dark. Esplin looked up. They had entered the dirt mound. He looked back at the Andalite-Taxxon and his excitement began to increase again.

"There is one other possibility, Andalite. There has never been an Andalite- Controller. None of us has ever succeeded in capturing an Andalite alive. Your warriors use that nasty Andalite tail blade on themselves rather than be taken alive." Esplin grinned again. "Such a waste. Really. See, I want to be the first to have an Andalite body. With that body, with the Andalite morphing power, I wouldn't remain a sub-visser for long. I could be a full visser."

The Andalite stared hatred through Taxxon eye-globules. Esplin stared back, unintimidated.

"Let me take that Andalite body. You'll live." Esplin grinned. "It's the only way you'll live."

‹My name is Elfangor, Yeerk,› the Andalite responded defiantly. ‹Remember the name. You'll be hearing it again. But you will never take me alive.›

"A pity," Esplin sneered, annoyed. "Stop the car! Open the door!"

Hekliss, the Yeerk closest to the controls, obeyed. The car slowed, stopped. On one side of the mag-lev track was a sheer drop. Esplin looked out and pointed downward. "See them? Taxxons. Not Yeerks. No, those are Taxxons in their natural state. Unimproved, you might say. As savage and bloodthirsty as any creature in the galaxy." He glanced at Tarak. "Throw him out," he ordered.

The Hork-Bajir-Controllers shoved the Taxxon out the door and watched him fall ...


	11. Beginnings

****

A/N: New chappie! Yay!

And a short author's note, which is probably a relief.

Nogard – Yes, I meant Taxxons. And I changed it. Thank you for pointing that out. Probably the Honey Puffs again.

Stupid fake cereal . . . I can't remember what the brand-name version is called, but I think it's Honey Something. Oh well. Shutting up.

Korean Pearl – Thank you for reviewing! *hands KP an "I'm special" sticker* Take good care of it, that's one of the pretty-colored ones! And yes, I do try to not only make the story fit in with the books, but my other stories as well (which is why it sometimes takes me a while to update, added to the fact that I'm extremely lazy) . . . although I had to change things a little, so this doesn't exactly fit with The Companion in IEH. I really should change the first few chapters of IEH . . . ffnet messed them up . . .

OH! And I fixed the first chapter of AniTubbies! It's readable now and it doesn't have all those stupid funky symbols. Third chapter of AniTubbies will be up soon . . . I know I promised that a long time ago, and it didn't happen. But this time I'm going to really try to get that posted!

Oh by the way, in the last chapter when it says "the Andalite responded," it was supposed to be "My name is Elfangor, Yeerk, the Andalite responded. Remember the name. You'll be hearing it again. But you will never take me alive." I'm too lazy to go back and fix it.

So much for a short author's note. Argh. Here's the story noo.

___________________________

****

Chapter 11

WHUUUMMMPPPFFF!

The Taxxon burst open. The other Taxxons rushed at him eagerly.

_Hurry up_, Esplin thought. _Hurry, before he demorphs._

Yet the Andalite — Elfangor — was demorphing. Blue fur was replacing Taxxon goo. Then something growing at the back. _Not the tail. Not the tail_, Esplin said silently.

__

Fwapp!

Esplin groaned. The Andalite's tail had appeared. Oh, well. The Yeerks had their Dracon beams. Elfangor didn't have a chance.

_Fwapp! Fwapp! Fwapp!_ Several Taxxons were now incapacitated. The other Taxxons decided to eat them instead of the Andalite.

Esplin laughed. Then he said, "Kill him. Shoot the Andalite scum."

TSEEWWW! TSEEWW!

Elfangor took cover among the hungry Taxxons.

Esplin glared down at the Andalite. "Go in after him. Cut him to pieces!" he screamed at the other Hork-Bajir.

They immediately jumped into the Taxxons, slashing frantically.

"Back, you Taxxon _hogren kalach_!" Tarak ordered.

"He's morphing again!" Esplin whispered. "_Kafit_ bird. Shoot it! Shoot it!" he screeched at Sub-Visser Twenty-five.

"But the Taxxons may be hit!" Hekliss protested.

This only angered Esplin more. "I really don't care, shoot! Shoot! Kill it! SHOOOOOOT!"

The kafit bird disappeared down the tunnel.

"That was brilliant," Esplin heard Tarak mutter.

Back on the mag-lev car, Esplin immediately started yelling at Tarak and Sub-Visser Nineteen. "You!" he raged. "You could have gotten the Andalite. You idiots!" He whirled around and slashed at the other two sub-vissers with his wrist blade before he knew what he was doing.

Blood sprayed.

__

Thud. Thud.

Their detached heads hit the floor of the car.

Tarak, Hekliss, Esplin the secondary, and Sub-Visser Nineteen backed away very slowly.

Esplin the primary glared at them, but said nothing.

The train car came to a stop at the platform where the Yeerks had first embarked. The remaining five Controllers stepped out and immediately saw an Andalite ship descending.

The ship landed. The hatch opened slowly and _something_ stepped out. Esplin could tell it was some kind of creature, but it was not one he had ever seen before. He stared.

The Yeerks instinctively trained their Dracon beams on the creature.

It held up its hands. "Hey, hey. Relax. You can put down the weapons. I'm not here to fight. I'm here to trade."

Of course, none of the Controllers could understand him until he used hand motions.

Esplin was the first to get it. He walked over to the creature and said, "It wants to trade. This strange creature wants to trade. So. What do you have to trade, alien?"

The creature didn't understand Esplin either, but he knew what the Hork-Bajir-Controller had asked. The creature went back into the Andalite ship. When he came out, another alien of the same species was with him. This new creature was bound with wire.

The first creature shoved the second one forward, announcing, "That's what I have to trade. A whole planet full of . . . _that_."

"You will trade this species for what?" Esplin demanded.

The first alien said something else.

"What do you want from us?" Esplin repeated.

Obviously, the creature could not pantomime this.

Esplin turned to the other four Hork-Bajir-Controllers. "This bound-up creature needs to be infested. I will interrogate the other. Take that one" — he indicated the alien who was tied up — "to the Yeerk pool." He looked at the other alien. "You!"

"Yes?" The creature knew Esplin was talking to him.

Esplin motioned for the creature to come with him. "Come on."

When they reached the Yeerk pool, Esplin tried to get the creature to talk about his planet and people. Yet it was hard to communicate using only hand movements. Esplin gave up after awhile.

Instead, he outlined his plan for Tarak. "Once we have infested these two aliens, we may know more about what we need to do. We can adjust the details as necessary," Esplin concluded.

"What?" Tarak replied. Then, seeing as Esplin was annoyed at his response, he added, "Kidding, Esplin."

"I will take the creature who is attempting to bargain with us," Esplin continued. "You can have the other one, Tarak."

Tarak's head jerked up. "I can?" Then, just to be a pain, "What?"

"Tarak, shut your beak or I will personally kill you. Then you WON'T be getting that host body."

"What?"

"You are pushing it, Tarak."

Tarak shut up.

Esplin was nervous. By now, the process of infestation was familiar to him, but this was a new host species with a new type of brain and unfamiliar physiology. He had observed that the creature was physically weaker than a Hork-Bajir. Yet he had no way of knowing what the mind, the emotions, were like.

_Memories first_, Esplin thought to himself as he made contact with the creature's brain.

The host's name was Hedrick Chapman, although most of the time it was reduced to Chapman. He was a human. A young male, from the planet Earth.

_That's what I am,_ Esplin thought. _A human-Controller. The _first_ human-Controller. And Tarak will soon be the second._

He looked through more of the memories. Especially the most recent ones. The early memories were of life on the human's home planet — Earth — unimportant.

Yes, Chapman had come here with three Andalites. Elfangor . . . and another aristh named Arbron . . . and a war-prince named Alloran.

_That one's mine,_ Esplin decided. _Alloran-Semitur-Corrass, you are mine._ The Andalite's name sounded familiar . . . but oh well.

Okay. Anything else he needed to know? Chapman and the other human, Loren, had been captured by Skrit Na. Then they were rescued. By the Andalites. The Andalites were going to transport the humans to their home planet, but ... something had come up, and they had had to come here instead. To the Taxxon home world. Why? Why?

Esplin searched frantically through the memories.

The Time Matrix!

‹Yahh!›

‹Whoa, whoa, what the heck?› Chapman demanded.

‹The Time Matrix!›

‹You know about that?›

‹Yeah, I know about that,› Esplin sneered. ‹I see your memories, human.›

‹Hang on. I never said you could look at my memories!›

‹Deal with it,› Esplin said shortly.

‹So you aren't going to kill me?›

‹No. At least not yet.›

‹That's comforting,› Chapman muttered sarcastically.

‹Yeah, it is, isn't it? Now shut up if you're going to be a pain.›

‹Fine, fine, I'll shut up.›

Esplin ignored him. A plan was slowly forming in his brain. "Hey, Esplin!" he yelled to his brother. "Leave your host body and infest my former host!"

"What?" Esplin the secondary twin demanded in Galard.

"Oh. Duh." Esplin the primary had automatically used the language his host knew best — which the Hork-Bajir had never heard before. He repeated his request in Galard.

"Why?"

"I'll tell you in a minute. Tarak, infest the other alien now."

Tarak complied.

When he was sure Tarak had complete control of the human called Loren, Esplin smiled with his new human mouth. "Another female host, huh Tarak?"

"Not funny, Esplin," Tarak replied grumpily.

"I like this host. Not exactly an Andalite, but hey, you take what you can get."

Esplin noticed the other Hork-Bajir-Controllers giving him and Tarak weird looks.

"We weren't saying anything important," Tarak reassured them in Galard.

As soon as he had filled his brother in on the details of his plan, Esplin said, "Come on, Tarak. We have to go back to the Andalite ship."


	12. Strategy

**A/N: It's 5:40 in the morning but I'd really better post while I can … otherwise I'll put it off for like a month, like I have in the past.**

**Anonymous-cat – No, Visser One was not the first human-Controller. It kinda irked me when she said that in Visser … oh well, she was still the first human-Controller on Earth.**

**Korean Pearl – yes, you've updated and I've read … I think. Visser actually doesn't talk about this stuff because it's from Visser One's point of view and she was off somewhere else at this stupid outpost thingy.**

**(Later: actually, no I hadn't read, but I have now and reviewed.)**

**THERE IS AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE AT THE VERY END OF THIS CHAPTER!**

**NOW you get the short author's note. Yay.**

___________________________

****

CHAPTER 12

Upon reaching the ship, the Yeerks surveyed the area around it for signs of Andalites. Then the report came in. The Andalites had stolen a Skrit Na ship.

"Great. That's really helpful," Tarak commented unhelpfully. "Now what?"

"I don't need your sarcasm right now, Tarak-Nine-Three-Seven-Five. There are Bug fighters taking care of the Andalites. They have specific instructions."

* * *

The Bug fighters, it turned out, had been shot down by the Andalites. Apparently the Andalites had not escaped, though, for Elfangor came driving up in a yellow Mustang along with the mountain Taxxons who refused to let the Yeerks infest them.

Now there was a huge battle. The ground was becoming carpeted with Taxxon insides. And yet all Esplin and Tarak, Chapman and Loren could do was watch.

Just watch and wait for the Andalites to come. And hope that the Taxxons didn't get to them first.

Elfangor made his way through the Taxxon battle in the Mustang, heading for the ship. The _Jahar_.

"I don't like this," Tarak muttered, glancing nervously at the Taxxons who were struggling to get up the ramp that led to the _Jahar_'s hatch.

"You and everyone else here."

Suddenly, Esplin caught a movement in the crowd of Taxxons gathered at the ramp. One movement. A Taxxon! A Taxxon with four legs that were unusually short.

Tarak's eyes widened. "Uh-oh."

Esplin braced himself. "Oh. No."

The Taxxon turned so he faced the other Taxxons.

"Phew," Tarak whispered.

He had spoken too soon. The Taxxon whirled, skittered wildly up the ramp on Taxxon legs, going as fast as it could go.

Right at Esplin.

Esplin lost it. "Aaaaaaaahhh!"

A Taxxon could easily be killed. Unfortunately, so could a human. And Esplin did not have much experience with the human body. Still, he'd try —

The Taxxon leaned its upper body back ... and stopped.

Just stopped.

Esplin's eyes bugged out of his head. His mouth was wide open. He was ready for whatever the Taxxon did.

The Taxxon did nothing. It stayed in position, unmoving.

The Taxxon stared at Esplin.

Esplin stared back.

Finally, the Taxxon turned away.

Esplin breathed. The Taxxon was probably another Andalite in morph. Hopefully the Andalite was just having problems controlling the Taxxon hunger. Hopefully he hadn't suspected that Chapman was a Controller.

Out of the corner of his eye, Esplin noticed Elfangor leaping out of the Mustang onto the ramp.

Meanwhile, Esplin the secondary twin had infested his brother's former Hork-Bajir host. He smiled as he and a few other Hork-Bajir-Controllers approached.

"Ah, so we meet again, Andalite!" he said, playing the role of his twin. "Elfangor, right? That was the name you yelled so defiantly at me as you escaped. I was afraid the Taxxons had gotten to you by now. And I so wanted you all for myself!"

He paused, looked around. No one moved, except a few injured Taxxons who made way for the Hork-Bajir.

"Surrender, Elfangor," Esplin the secondary continued. "I won't kill you. I'll just ... use you. I'll leave this crude body and live inside your head. I'll wrap myself around your smug, arrogant Andalite brain and make you my slave. And with your Andalite morphing power, I'll run the galaxy before I'm done. It's either that or death, Andalite. There's no third choice."

The Taxxon, the one with four legs shorter than the rest, withdrew from the human-Controllers. Skittered down the ramp. Stopped when he reached Elfangor. ‹Guess we're a long way from the good old StarSword, eh, Elfangor? We are one lost, lonely pair of _aristh_s. Tell the Yeerk scum to dream on, Elfangor. Tell him we are Andalites. We don't surrender.›

‹You heard my friend, Sub-Visser Seven,› Elfangor said.

_Good_, Esplin thought. _It's working._

‹You want me?› Elfangor continued. ‹Come get me.›

"Okay. I will come get you. Cut him down! Cut him down!" Esplin screamed suddenly, imitating his brother's maniacal yell.

Hork-Bajir jumped onto the ramp. They slashed. Elfangor slashed. Esplin watched.

"Elfangor! Look out!" Tarak 9375 yelled, playing the part of his human host.

"Get him! What are you waiting for? He's just one Andalite!" Esplin shouted in a convincing display of his twin's easily-stimulated anger.

An unknown Hork-Bajir stepped forward. Whirled around, and suddenly Esplin the lesser had a wrist blade at his throat.

‹Don't move, Yeerk. Don't even breathe.›

_Andalite!_ Esplin realized.

‹Call off your men,› the Andalite ordered. ‹Do it, or I'll laugh when your head goes rolling across the ground.›

_I hope you planned for something like this to happen, Esplin,_ the secondary twin said silently to his brother.

Tarak ran to Elfangor and pressed his human hands on a cut on Elfangor's chest. "You're still alive! I was so worried."

‹Now here's what we're going to do, the Andalite said. ‹The two humans and my two friends and I are going aboard the _Jahar_. And you, Sub-Visser, are coming with us. Once we're off the cradle, we'll toss you back out. How does that plan sound to you, Yeerk?›

Esplin the secondary felt the Andalite's Hork-Bajir hand tighten its hold. "Do I have a choice?"

‹There's always a choice, Yeerk. I can cut you right out of that Hork-Bajir and feed your impotent slug body to my friend the Taxxon here. That's one choice. Or you can order your men back down the ramp. All the way down.›

"Whatever became of the Andalite reputation of gentleness and kindness?" Esplin asked mockingly.

‹What happened? We left that image in the ashes of the Hork-Bajir home world.›

Esplin's eyes widened. He wanted to look over at the human-Controllers, see their reactions. But he could not let it slip that the humans were no longer humans.

Instead, he said, "You were there?"

‹I was there. My name is Alloran-Semitur-Corrass. War-prince Alloran.›

And Alloran, both Esplins, Tarak, and Elfangor began to walk toward the Andalite ship.

The Andalite-Taxxon stayed behind.

__________________________________ ****

This chappie is dedicated to KP because her update inspired me to update. However she doesn't get another sticker because I only hand out one to each person. Otherwise some people would be plastered with stickers ...

Btw, I was ready to post this last week, but my computer messes it up so I sent this to my other computer and just now had time to come down and post.

random person: Talk about BS.

me: *shoots random person*

I do not know when I will have time to post AniTubbies, but conferences are this week which means no school Thursday and Friday (yay!) and maybe I'll write it then. ****

Now for the important message … which is actually a question … Should I start posting my other story that I'm writing alongside as this one?

Meaning if you're bored of this story, or you think it's moving too slowly, or you just want something completely different you can go read the other one and vice versa … PLUS we might get to my third story faster. Yes, I have a third story, also with a completely different plot. (This third one happens to be my favorite, but I've just started writing it so it won't be posted for a while.)

On the other hand, it will kind of slow down updates of this particular story.

So, which do you want? Quicker updates of THIS story, or quicker updates of just any story?

And who's waiting very impatiently for AniTubbies?

Please answer and review.

(okay this is why the first note was so short … all the important — or not — stuff is here at the end.)

Review please and you might get a sticker! If you don't already have one that is … but I'll still call you special.

~ Salad Shooter `Ô›


	13. Infestation

**Yes, it has been way too long since I last updated. Here's a nice long chappie for y'all. As for AniTubbies – I've got two different new chappies. However, neither of them are finished. Someday, I'll decide to finish and post one of them.**

**So sue me, I have been even busier than ever. Fortunately, school is out now, so I hope I'll be posting more.**

**Enjoy.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Esplin the primary twin watched as the Jahar lifted off.

Then he watched more attentively as Alloran demorphed. This Andalite body was soon going to be his, if he had his way.

Elfangor looked relieved.

Alloran gave him a look. ‹Did you think I had ended up like Arbron back there? Trapped? A nothlit? No, _Aristh_ Elfangor. I am still myself.›

‹I'm glad, sir. Your orders, sir?›

‹Ah. Now you want orders, Alloran sneered. ‹When I ordered you to flush those pools full of Yeerks out into space you disobeyed me. But now you want orders. Now you _want _to be told what to do.›

‹Sir, the Time Matrix is — › Elfangor began.

‹Silence, you young fool! We don't have time for that yet. No, first we have to take care of the business you kept me from taking care of. That Taxxon ship full of Yeerks is still in its cradle. Still filled with Yeerk slugs. What do you think I've been doing the last day and a half? I've been hiding in shadows, morphing and demorphing, watching that ship.›

‹Prince Alloran, is that really the most important thing to do?

Alloran glared at Elfangor. ‹The most important thing in war is to destroy your enemies, _Aristh_ Elfangor. Nothing is more important than destroying your enemies. Do you understand?› He looked at Esplin the secondary twin with his stalk eyes, glaring with his main eyes at Elfangor. ‹You understand, don't you? You Yeerks understand.›

"You said you would let me go!" Esplin the lesser protested.

‹And so I will. Open the hatch, _Aristh_ Elfangor. The sub-visser is going to see if that Hork-Bajir body of his can fly!›

Esplin the secondary braced himself for a fight. He looked at his brother.

Esplin the primary shook his head — only slightly, so the Andalites wouldn't see. He had prepared for something like this. All his brother had to do was be ready to leave the Hork-Bajir brain.

‹Slow to dead stop,› Alloran instructed Elfangor. ‹Altitude?›

‹Fifteen thousand feet. We are still within the atmosphere. Air speed is now at dead stop.›

‹Dead stop,› Alloran echoed. ‹Appropriate. Now open the hatch.›

The hatch opened.

‹Get out, Yeerk,› Alloran ordered.

Esplin the secondary hesitated, then jumped.

Alloran seemed to relax. ‹Close the hatch.›

Elfangor obeyed.

Alloran looked satisfied. ‹Now we go back and fry that transport ship. Good to see you've grown up a little, _Aristh_ Elfangor. Take us back over the southeastern corner of the spaceport. Maintain present altitude. Then we'll go pick up our missing Time Matrix, eh?›

Elfangor hesitated again. Looked at Esplin the primary. ‹What made you decide to come with us? Do you expect mercy from us? You betrayed us. You betrayed your fellow human. You've told the Yeerks about Earth. You may have betrayed your entire species.›

Esplin searched Chapman's brain. It only took a split second. Chapman's opinion of Elfangor's question was out in the open.

Esplin shrugged Chapman's shoulders. "Not my fault, though, is it? I was on Earth, minding my own business. I didn't ask to be kidnapped by the Skrit Na. I didn't ask to be dragged halfway across the galaxy by you Andalites. I was just trying to protect myself."

Alloran laughed. ‹By making deals with the Yeerks? The Yeerks don't make deals. They enslave.›

Esplin decided to shut up before he let something slip. "Yeah, I guess that's what I realized. After a while. Look, I'm sorry, okay? I'm just a dumb human kid, okay? Give me a break."

Chapman seemed to find this funny.

‹Shut up or I'll kill you as soon as I'm out of you!› Esplin yelled, mind to mind.

Chapman shut up.

Elfangor looked back at Alloran. ‹We are coming back over the spaceport. There is a lot of smoke. But you should still be able to get a good targeting lock with the shredder.›

Esplin prepared to fight.

‹Fire, _Aristh_ Elfangor,› Alloran said.

‹What?› Elfangor asked.

‹I said fire. Fry those Yeerks. You let them live, now you finish them. Undo your mistake, and no one will ever have to know about your earlier cowardice. Do it, Elfangor.›

Elfangor's hand was on the firing pad. Esplin was just about to leap to stop him —

Suddenly, Elfangor pulled his hand back.

In a split second, Alloran's tail blade was at his throat.

‹You think you can fight a clean war, Elfangor? Is that what you think? Or are you one of those who are happy enough when someone like me does the dirty work for you?›

‹They are defenseless,› Elfangor said quietly.

‹They are the enemy. Hypocrites! You're all hypocrites! We lost the Hork-Bajir war because of weak, moralizing fools like you! Because of fools like you, I am disgraced and shunned and sent off on trivial errands with nothing but _aristh_s under my command.›

‹War-prince Alloran, I honor you, but — ›

‹What does it matter how you destroy the enemy? What does it matter if you kill them with a tail blade or a shredder or a quantum virus?›

Esplin tensed up again. He remembered the quantum virus from Aldrea-Iskillion-Falan's memories. He remembered why the name Alloran had been familiar.

It was Alloran who had ordered the creation of the quantum virus.

Alloran jerked Esplin back to the present. ‹I can not have a weak, cowardly fool like you messing up — ›

Suddenly Esplin realized that this was his chance. He leaped, hit the side of Alloran's head.

Elfangor whipped his tail and whacked Alloran on his head with the flat of the blade, rendering him unconscious. Then Elfangor got out something that Esplin recognized as a tranquilizer hypo and emptied it into Alloran.

Esplin looked at Elfangor. "Now what?"

‹Now what?! I just knocked out my own prince!› Then, Elfangor calmed himself down. ‹We have something to pick up. Then we are getting as far from this evil place as this ship will go!›

Esplin nodded.

Tarak put his hand on the gash on Elfangor's chest again. He tore a strip from Loren's shirt and tied it around the wound.

Thank you.

"Is life always this insane for you space cadets?" Tarak asked.

‹Oh, yes. Infiltrate the Taxxon home world, help inspire a Taxxon civil war, mutiny against my prince, and locate the Time Matrix, all in the company of a pair of strange, two-legged aliens ... Business as usual.›

"Hey, you made a joke. I didn't think you did humor, Elfangor."

‹When the world goes mad, what else can you do? ... I wonder if Arbron knew the world was mad?›

"Speaking of crazy ... did I see you driving up in a bright yellow Mustang back there?"

‹It was a wonderful machine. Primitive, but strangely enjoyable.› He peered at the exterior display screen. ‹There it is. We're going down. I need to clear away the wreckage so the tractor beam can grab the Time Matrix.›

Esplin grinned. "Here goes," he whispered.

* * *

The Jahar landed near the Skrit Na ship. Elfangor, armed with a handheld shredder, opened the hatch of the Jahar and leaped out. Esplin waited till Elfangor was behind the Time Matrix. Then, grinning at Tarak, he lay down so that his ear was right next to Alloran's. He left the human Chapman after giving final instructions.

Alloran was still unconscious. He was unaware that Esplin was taking over his brain, rummaging through his memories, impatient for him to regain consciousness.

Tarak emptied a stimulant hypo into the Andalite.

‹What is going on?› Alloran demanded, waking up.

‹Hah-hah!›

‹Hah-hah what? Who are you? Where are you?›

‹My name is Esplin 9466. I believe you know me as Sub-Visser Seven. I am now the first Andalite-Controller.›

Realization set in. ‹No!› Alloran yelled.

‹Yes,› Esplin confirmed triumphantly. ‹You are my host.›

‹I'll kill you!›

‹No, I don't think you will.›

‹Elfangor will kill you then!›

‹You'll die too. In the unlikely event that that happens.›

‹I don't care.›

Esplin opened the eyes. The four Andalite eyes. He twisted the stalk eyes around. Yes! Four eyes. Vision superior to that of a human. He got up.

Four legs. Four hooved legs. Strong legs that helped the Andalite to run as fast as fifty miles an hour.

‹I did it,› he announced.

"I helped," Tarak protested.

‹A little.›

"Oh, shut — "

Tarak whirled around, Dracon beam unholstered.

Elfangor! Aiming a shredder! TSSEEEEEWWW!

Tarak was down.

TSSSEEEWWWW!

Chapman, leaping out, firing his Dracon beam!

The blast missed Elfangor.

TSSEEEEEWWW! Chapman dropped.

Esplin snatched Chapman's Dracon beam up.

TSSEEEEEWWW!

Esplin's right arm burned with pain, then lost all sensation. He glared at Elfangor. Then smirked. ‹Very good, _Aristh_ Elfangor. It took you a while, but you figured it out in the end.›

‹I'll kill you!› Alloran raged again.

‹Sub-Visser Seven, Elfangor said, hatred in his thought-speak voice.

‹Yes, but not for long. The Yeerk who made the first Andalite-Controller? The Yeerk who captured the fabled Time Matrix? I'd say I can count on a major promotion. Wouldn't you?›

Elfangor glared. ‹You made Chapman a Controller. You were in his head. That Hork-Bajir I thought was you ... just a trick.›

‹Of course. And another of my people made Loren one of us.› Esplin gestured towards Tarak, who was unconscious on the floor. ‹And while you so considerately worked to clear away the Time Matrix, I revived Alloran and transferred myself into him. The first and only Andalite-Controller!›

‹You'll die, Yeerk!› Alloran roared.

Esplin ignored him. ‹It was so kind of you to knock the old warrior out for me. I didn't know how I was even going to take him. He was a wily creature. A bit mad, of course, but he knew war. You saw how ruthless he was in tossing out the poor Hork-Bajir who played the role of me. Yes, Alloran was a warrior.› He paused to see Elfangor's reaction, then continued. ‹Chapman told us about the Time Matrix, of course. But we needed you to show us where it was. The attack by the Mountain Taxxons could have disrupted everything, but you know, in the end it was convenient. It kept you from growing suspicious. You were too busy worrying about your fellow _aristh_. You didn't even have time to wonder how the two humans just happened to be waiting for you. You didn't wonder why my troops let you escape.›

Elfangor seemed frozen. He stared at Esplin.

Esplin laughed. ‹But you know the best part? I really couldn't have let you burn that transport ship full of my people. Chapman didn't know about the Yeerks in that transport, so neither did I. And if you'd gone along with Alloran I'd have had to try to stop you. So would my brother Yeerk in the human girl. It was one thing to sacrifice the poor fool who played the role of me.› It wouldn't hurt to have Elfangor believe that Esplin's twin was dead. ‹But ten thousand Yeerks? No, I'd have had to act, and then you and Alloran together would have most likely made short work of me. But no, Elfangor is one of those good Andalites. You don't go in for slaughtering the helpless, do you?› Esplin laughed again. His thought-speak voice became increasingly excited. ‹Wonderful! Your qualms delivered Alloran to me. Alloran and the Time Matrix. Mine!›

Elfangor spoke for the first time in a while. ‹Really? I seem to be the one holding the shredder.›

‹There are a dozen Bug fighters closing in right now. You've lost, little one.›

Elfangor aimed the shredder. ‹You'll be a cinder by the time they get here.›

‹No, you won't kill a helpless foe,› Esplin mocked. He had no idea if this would work, but it was worth a try. ‹I have no weapon! I am your prisoner! Hah-hah! I surrender to you, Elfangor. I surrender!›

‹You're right, Sub-Visser,› Elfangor said. ‹I won't kill you.›

Esplin barely had time to think, _Hah! It worked!_ when Elfangor fired!

TSSEEEEEWWW!

Esplin blacked out.


	14. He's gonna decapitate you all if you don...

**Hey! It's been exactly 1 month since I last updated. So here is next chappie.**

AniTubbies 3 is slowly but surely being written. Is not finished yet. Will hopefully someday be finished and posted.

Anyway. Here's another glimpse into Splinter's maniacal mind ... short chappie but I will try to get another one up soon. This is the last week of drivers ed here.

**

* * *

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**Chapter 14 **

Esplin regained consciousness before Alloran. He used the time to look through Alloran's memories while feverish, excited thoughts rushed through his Yeerk mind.

* * *

Esplin opened his four eyes, one at a time.

Bug fighters. Aiming their Dracon beams at him. Why — uh-oh.

They thought he was a normal Andalite. But … he had warned them that he might be in an Andalite body! Why — oh. Elfangor.

‹I'll kill you!› he muttered. He took off running.

Alloran laughed.

‹It's not funny!›

‹Yes it is.›

‹If you weren't my host I'd kill you, too.›

TSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW!

A near miss.

TSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW!

Another near miss.

‹They're missing intentionally!› Esplin realized.

TSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW! TSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW! TSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW!

Suddenly the Bug fighters hesitated, realizing.

The Jahar was escaping.

The Bug fighters chased after it, but it was too late.

Esplin collapsed on the Taxxon dirt.

* * *

‹I'll kill you all!›

"But Sub-Visser — " Arlin 5341 protested.

‹Shut up, I can guess what happened. I'm still going to kill you!›

Esplin glared at the other Yeerks. They cringed. Esplin's new tail blade was poised to strike if any Yeerk even looked at him wrong.

‹Now, where's Tarak?›

"He never left the Andalite ship. As far as we know, he's still on it."

‹What about Esplin the secondary?›

"He has a new host. A Taxxon."

‹What?›

"There were no available Hork-Bajir hosts," Arlin explained.

‹Oh.›

_Still, a Taxxon?_ Esplin thought. No Yeerk wanted a Taxxon host.

Oh well. What was done was done.

And he had finally infested an Andalite.

Esplin 9466 was the one and only Andalite-Controller.


	15. Advancement

**Three reviews = really quick updates! Thank you so much!**

Korean Pearl – Where have I been? Well, between drivers ed and contemplating my incredibly insane life I have been ... playing Spider Solitaire? *ducks* *pokes head up* It's quite addictive ... *ducks again* I know the temptation to throw things at me is great ...

Mersang – The Hork-Bajir Chronicles said that Esplin (either one) was born in a "sterile titanium-alloy" Yeerk pool constructed by Gedds. The Sulp Niar pool was an actual pool on the Yeerk homeworld. I haven't read book 16 in a long time, but if it says Sulp Niar pool I am suing. I'm going by HBC anyway. Hey, maybe Esplin the secondary had a reason for saying he was from the Sulp Niar pool, maybe some Yeerks are ashamed of being from a stupid little pool on some Andalite ship? Eep. I'm thinking too much now. I'm half-asleep so be nice to me.

Anonymous-cat – Well, here is another chapter! Enjoy!

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* * *

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**Chapter 15**

The report had come from the Council of Thirteen. Esplin 9466, formerly Sub-Visser Seven, was officially promoted to Visser Thirty-two.

Now another report was coming in.

"Visser! Our sensors show the Andalite ship has entered normal space!"

Esplin whirled around. ‹Where?›

"Near the Graysha Nebula."

‹Tell every available Yeerk to report to my Blade ship immediately!›

Chapman had obviously carried out Esplin's last instructions. He had told Elfangor to use the Time Matrix. Elfangor had returned to real space, because he knew the Time Matrix didn't work in zero-space.

What he had not known was that the Yeerks had placed a homing device on the Jahar. Once the Jahar returned to normal space, it would activate the Yeerk sensors.

_All_ Yeerk sensors. This way, Yeerks nearer to the Graysha Nebula could destroy the Jahar, or at least keep Elfangor from using the Time Matrix until Esplin got there.

Esplin raced to his new Blade ship.

* * *

It took less time than Esplin would have guessed to reach the nebula. Zero-space had apparently reconfigured so that the Blade ship reached its destination in only a few minutes. A Pool ship was already there.

As soon as he was close enough to the Jahar, he punched up the ship-to-ship. Visual, two-way, thought-speak communication.

‹Ah, Elfangor, I believe. Still have the Time Matrix, I hope? I'm here to take it from you.›

An Andalite face appeared on the communications screen. Elfangor. ‹So, Sub-Visser Seven. You survived. Too bad.›

‹I did survive,› Esplin agreed. ‹But you almost got me there, you really did. And by the way, it's no longer Sub-Visser Seven. I'm the first Yeerk to capture an Andalite body. I have already delivered more intelligence on Andalite fleet deployments than a century of spying could have yielded. So it's not _Sub-Visser_ anything anymore. You are addressing _Visser_ Thirty-two.› Esplin smirked.

‹You're still just a slug as far as I'm concerned. You want the Time Matrix? Come and take it from me. I promise you — ›

TSSSSEEEEWWWW!

The human girl, visible behind the Andalite onscreen, had fired a shredder!

Elfangor slumped, unconscious.

Tarak! Esplin thought.

"Andalite ships!" Diptran 7875 yelled.

‹Where?!› Esplin demanded, looking at the viewscreen.

Sure enough, an Andalite Dome ship was approaching.

‹The Pool ship will take care of them,› Esplin said confidently as the Blade ship drew closer to the Jahar.

The Jahar jerked as the Blade ship latched on.

‹Open the hatch,› Esplin ordered.

The hatch opened. One Hork-Bajir-Controller leaped into the Jahar.

TSSSEEEEWWW!

The Hork-Bajir dropped.

Esplin grabbed a Dracon beam and aimed it into the Jahar.

TSSSSEEEEWWWW!

Missed Elfangor. Hit Tarak. Fortunately, the beam was set on stun.

Alloran laughed. ‹Good move, Esplin. Shoot your friend instead of the Andalite. Very good move.›

‹Shut up,› Esplin said.

He shoved the unconscious Hork-Bajir aside and boarded the Jahar.


	16. Assimilation

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Chapter 16

Elfangor whipped his tail.

Esplin leaped back.

TSSSSWWWWEEEWW!

Elfangor's blade had hit the console and fired the Dracon beams!

‹Noooooo!› Esplin yelled.

Part of the Blade ship exploded. It jerked away from the Jahar.

FWWOOOOOSSSH!

The Hork-Bajir who had been knocked out flew out of the hatch. Esplin lost his balance and hit the deck.

He whirled and aimed his Dracon beam. ‹You're a real source of agitation, Elfangor,› he hissed. ‹Now, die.›

WHUMPF!

TSSEEEEWWW!

The ship jerked and the beam went wild.

No air! The air was quickly being sucked out the hatch. The hatch was closing, but there was no longer enough oxygen.

FFWWWUUUMMMPPP!

An asteroid!

_Wait — it can't — that's impossible! _Esplin thought.

Because the asteroid seemed to be in the process of swallowing the ship.

And then … sucking in the asteroid in turn, and the ship along with it … a black hole!

__

Have to do something … have to … no air … can't breathe … black hole … asteroid … need air … black …

* * *

****

Yep. Short chapter and a cliffie at that. I'm so evil … AND an overabundance of those little dots that I use too much anyway.

On the bright side, I'm going to update VERY soon after this, but I just had to give you a day or two of torture.

Reviewer's response thingy:

Sinister Shadow – Why thank you. bows I have read some of your fics and one of them is actually on my favorites list. And yes, I know they're not from the Sulp Niar pool :)

Anonymous-cat: Hope this very short chapter isn't too much of an issue. I repeat, I will post again soon!

Korean Pearl: I can't watch Kim Possible anymore without it reminding me of you! (Not that I ever really watch it … but there was this advertisement yesterday … ) Um. Anyway. I have updated, and I have FINALLY caught up with reading your stories. gives you dog biscuit

What? That's what I do with my dog when he looks at me with puppy eyes! Actually I don't, because I'm too lazy to go get one, but virtual dog biscuits aren't as much of a hassle. :P


	17. Evasion

**Chapter 17**

"Now what?"

A far-off-seeming voice penetrated Esplin's returning consciousness.

‹What … ?›

‹Well, we have air, but no power. The living asteroids drained the ship of power. We are falling toward a black hole.›

Okay, that was Elfangor. Yes. What had happened?

Then he remembered. The black hole. The asteroid. Tarak. The Time Matrix …

Wait. The Time Matrix. Was that it?

"Oh. That's not good."

Tarak? No, couldn't be. Loren was obviously no longer a Controller. Where was Tarak?

‹If we fall into the black hole it will crush us down to the size of a carbon atom. The ship, all of us, crushed to the size of a carbon atom.›

The Time Matrix … An idea was slowly taking shape in Esplin's mind. A desperate plan, to be sure, but under the circumstances … He waited for Alloran to regain full conciousness.

"Yeah, we learned about black holes in school."

Esplin spoke up. ‹There is only one way out, Andalite.›

Elfangor turned around, tail poised.

‹Don't be a fool, Elfangor. What will be gained by you and me slashing each other up with these excellent Andalite tails?›

‹You have a better idea? Because I can think of a lot of good reasons to go tail-to-tail with you,› Elfangor snapped.

With a quick scan of Alloran's recent memories, Esplin was ready with a comeback. ‹You blame me for all your own failings? I'm not the one who left his friend back on the Taxxon world, trapped in that vile worm's body. I'm not the one who disobeyed his prince's orders and let ten thousand Yeerks escape. A bit of disobedience that helped cause poor old Alloran's downfall.›

He'd struck a nerve. Good.

‹You have something to say, Yeerk?›

‹Yes. We are falling toward a black hole in a dead ship. But we have a way out. The Time Matrix.›

‹In case you haven't noticed, Visser, the Time Matrix is strapped to the outside of the ship. The _outside_. In fact, It's probably drifting free. It was held in place with energy ropes. Those are gone.›

‹Gravity,› Esplin said condescendingly. ‹There should be just enough attraction between the ship and the Time Matrix to keep it close.›

Elfangor gave him a look. ‹How do you propose getting to it?›

‹We would have to work together, Andalite. And quickly.›

‹Work together?›

‹One of us will have to be reeled outside. On a rope or cable. Someone will have to hold that rope. And someone else will have to be on the end of that rope.›

Elfangor was still skeptical. ‹And do what? Pull the Time Matrix in through the hatch? That will mean losing all our air again. We don't have force fields anymore.›

‹Yes. It will be do-or-die. We can use the air hoods for an emergency five minutes.›

‹What air hoods?›

‹You forget I control Alloran. And this was his ship. I know all the ship's secrets. There is a small supply of emergency hoods. Alloran kept them for just such an occasion.›

After a couple seconds of consideration, Elfangor agreed. ‹Here are my terms: I will go outside. You hold the rope.›

‹And when you reach the Time Matrix you'll activate it and disappear, leaving me behind.›

‹No, Elfangor insisted. ‹I would not leave Loren … I mean, the humans. Search Alloran's mind. He knows. You'll see it's true.›

Esplin did another scan of his host's memories. ‹Yes, it seems you are correct. Alloran decided you had formed some pathetic feelings for this human female. But just in case you decide to betray me anyway, I remind you that I still have my tail. I can finish your human friend slowly as we sink toward that black hole,› he threatened, earning a hateful glare from Elfangor.

_Time is running short,_ Esplin realized. He went and got the air hoods and handed one to Elfangor and one to Loren. He then put on his own hood and helped Elfangor tie a fourth on Chapman.

Elfangor had tied one end of a long piece of cable just below his tail blade.

‹Ready?› Esplin asked impatiently.

‹I'm ready. You just worry about yourself, Yeerk.›

‹Alloran is so right about you. You're a moralizing, arrogant, weak-willed little fool.›

‹Loren? We're going to open the hatch,› Elfangor said, ignoring Esplin's remark. ‹Air will rush out but we'll do it more slowly than before. Still, keep an eye on your fellow human. We don't want him sucked out into space.›

"We don't?"

Esplin looked at her, surprised.

"Sarcasm. A type of humor," she clarified.

* * *

Esplin waited impatiently as Elfangor took a last breath of cabin air, then secured his air hood. When Elfangor gave the signal, Esplin opened the hatch.

Elfangor stepped out into the vacuum of space.

* * *

‹Okay. Pull!›

Esplin pulled on the cable and Elfangor came back into view. With the Time Matrix. They secured it against the hatch.

‹Well done, Andalite. Thirty seconds left to activate this thing.› Esplin considered taking a tail swipe at Elfangor. He wasn't expecting —

‹Go ahead, Yeerk. Make your move.›

Yes, he was expecting it. Esplin gave up.

Now, to figure out how to use the Time Matrix before Elfangor could —

‹Touch. The Matrix responds to touch. I think if we touch and form a mental link, we can — ›

That was all Esplin needed to know. He pressed his hand onto the Time Matrix. Where to go? Instinct said the Hork-Bajir home world. Intelligence said, no way. And he was definitely not going back to the Taxxon world.

The Yeerk home world. That was it. He would have backup there, and could figure out what to do next from that point.

He touched the Matrix and the world exploded! For a second Esplin just stared at the inside-out, twisted-around version of the world he was seeing — but he had to use the Time Matrix before Elfangor could!

_Think Yeerk planet,_ Esplin told himself. He'd been there once before, although only briefly. Think green sky. Think big huge Yeerk pools. Think Kandrona sun.

He saw the Andalite world … blue grass … red-gold sky … trees … he had a strange desire to go there …

No! He'd die there. Yeerk home world. Yeerk home world.

He saw Earth … forcing back his image of the Yeerk world … what? No! He pushed it out of his mind. YeerkhomeworldYeerkhomeworldYeerkhomeworldYeerk …

Somebody was laughing at him … why?

And all of a sudden he was there.

* * *

****

Korean Pearl: Wow, you're currently my most faithful reviewer. Hopefully this longer chapter was posted soon enough for your tastes. I did read the new chapter of CC (argh … attack of the abbreviations … and now alliteration … aaaaaaaahhh!) and I left a lovely little review.

Nooo! More alliteration!

Aaaaaaahhh! I just found out you've updated The Nadar. Now I have reviewed that as well.

Stupid didn't do the stars around "gives you dog biscuit" last time and I didn't notice. Argh. Oh well.

I am updating as quickly as possible!


	18. Bewilderment

**Hi, I'm back finally! Sorry, we were on vacation, and then the internet wasn't working right, and then school started and I got WAY busy. So here's a new chapter, maybe two. Enjoy. **

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 18**

There! The Yeerk planet. He'd made it.

But where was he?

He couldn't see any Yeerk ships, or constructions, or any sign of life at all.

Great. He'd have to walk a while.

There! Movement!

Unfortunately it was only one of those silly _Garnud_ animals from the Yeerk home world. The seemingly headless creatures that made a Gedd look like a genius in comparison.

No Hork-Bajir. No Gedds. Not a Yeerk pool in sight. Just the _Garnud_ … and now that he noticed, several _Dralin_ tongues. He'd better watch out for those.

No intelligent life anywhere.

Loren and Elfangor had to be here somewhere. Esplin hoped that they had been captured by other Yeerks. And, while he was at it, he hoped that Elfangor had committed suicide rather than be made into a Controller.

Nice thought. More likely they'd ended up in a place similar to this empty landscape Esplin was stuck in.

He looked around. Left. Right. Behind him. Up … Wha?!

The sky, it was all wrong, it was messed up! Yes, there was the green Yeerkish sky streaked with lightning, but then there were patches of blue, and various shades of orange.

_What could have possibly polluted the sky enough to make it look like that,_ Esplin wondered.

Then he saw.

Ahead of him, the gray-brown and reddish-black ended. Just … stopped. Terminated.

And a stretch of blue began …

_This is not the Yeerk planet,_ he realized.

He raced ahead to the blueness.

* * *

Trees. Blue grass.

This strange place seemed to be directly underneath a yellow-orange patch of sky.

It was the Andalite world, Esplin realized. He'd never been there, but he'd seen Elfangor's mental image of it.

He slowed down.

Ahead, an Andalite scoop. No Andalites seemed to be around, though. This was a good thing.

_What is going on?_

Esplin decided to continue running until he found something useful.

* * *

It wasn't long before he came to the edge of the Andalite world patch. He stepped into a place with green grass and some strange squarish structures.

This was Earth. He recognized it from the human Chapman's memories.

He wondered if Loren was nearby. He wondered where Elfangor was. He wondered how the Time Matrix could combine their three worlds like this.

He wondered whether running like this was going to get him anywhere.

Esplin kept running.

* * *

**So much for "updating as quickly as possible." Again, sorry for the long wait. **

**Anonymous-cat – Mortrons are coming up! Stay tuned (oops, that's Shona's line).**

**Korean Pearl – Thank you very much. Here's a chocolate chip cookie for the complimentary comments. (Eep, not the alliteration thing again.) Sorry, the Bottle Caps and the peppermint are mine … YES! ALL MINE! And so is the Honeycomb … the fake Honeycomb … oh well. I have got to catch up on your stories someday … but not today probably. I have these chapters to post, and then I have other stuff to do, but I FINISHED MY HOMEWORK FOR THE WEEKEND! I feel so special! Okay now. I'd better post this before I get derailed.**

**I might post the next chapter, since this one is rather short, but first I must eat some fake Honeycomb.**

**Salad Shooter ****`Ô**›** (It's been a few chapters since y'all have seen that, no?)**


	19. Getting a little hyper now!

**Yay! Long chappie noo!  
****("noo"-my word-"now" – IT'S MINE, DON'T STEAL IT!)**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 19**

Esplin could see another Yeerk world patch in the distance.

Still, he was tired. He slowed to a stop just before reaching it.

Suddenly — movement! A flash of yellow-black. Was it — yes! Jarex and Larex, the two Mortrons that Esplin had as pets. He'd found them while searching for suitable host bodies after leaving the Hork-Bajir planet, but had brought them to the Yeerk home world because they would never have survived on the Taxxon world.

‹Jarex! Larex! Come here!›

The Mortrons zipped over to him on their biological wheels. Even with their tiny non-infestable brains they understood simple, direct thought-speech commands. Esplin was pleased — he'd never been able to get them to respond to Hork-Bajir speech.

‹I don't suppose you have any idea where we are?›

This was not a simple command, so the Mortrons ignored him. Jarex snapped at a _Dralin_ tongue in the Yeerk patch nearby. The Mortrons had been admired by the Yeerks for their ability to evade the tongues and even catch them in their red-toothed mouths.

‹Of course, since this isn't the real Yeerk planet I assume you're not the real Jarex and Larex either. Oh well. If Elfangor and that human show up you'll come in handy anyway. Maybe you've already seen them?›

He looked over at the Mortrons. Jarex had caught the _Dralin_ tongue, and he and Larex were busily devouring it.

Esplin realized he was thirsty. He could see a pool of water in the Earth patch with one bank touching the Yeerk landscape. He brought Jarex and Larex to the edge, then stuck his hoof in. The water was pure and clean and satisfying as it ran up his leg.

After drinking his fill, Esplin fell asleep.

* * *

"Somehow we made this place. The three of us. We created this place."

His waking mind thought at first that it was Tarak, still a human-Controller. Then he remembered. He felt more refreshed and well-rested than he had in a long time. He stood up and looked across the lake in the direction from which the voice came.

"You're asking me? Well, that time machine — the Time Matrix, or whatever you call it — is not just like some car you drive though time. I think to steer it you have to imagine the place and time where you want to go. I think with three of us each having different ideas of where we wanted to go, well, this is the result: part me, part you, part … part _him_."

Esplin could see them now. The human and the Andalite. And they had noticed him as well. As they came around the lake toward him he waved his right hand in the air, a gesture he had picked up in the short time that he'd controlled the human Chapman.

‹So, young Elfangor, we meet again. As you see, I brought my pets: Jarex and Larex.› He paused, then added, ‹And you brought your pet too. Your pet human.›

"You know, Elfangor," he heard Loren mutter, "I'm beginning to see why you Andalites really dislike Yeerks. Whatever body they may be in, they still have the manners of slugs."

This statement ticked him off slightly, although for no apparent reason. ‹Brave little human girl. Do you understand that even now my people are on their way to evaluate your primitive world?› _If the higher-ranking Yeerks have any sense at all, that is._ ‹Do you understand that within a few years your people, you humans, will be slaves of the Yeerk Empire?›

"Blah, blah, blah."

Esplin looked at her questioningly. He could almost hear Tarak's voice saying, "_What?_"

Loren explained. "You do a lot of talking for a slug. You think I'm scared of you?"

‹Yes,) Esplin replied. ‹I know you're scared of me.›

Loren was silent for a few seconds, then she knelt down. Esplin wondered if she was going to perform that absurd human display of emotion called crying.

Suddenly she pulled her arm back, let it swoop in a large circle, and —

BONK!

Sudden pain in his main eye! Or rather, right below his eye. He was disoriented for a minute, then realized that Loren had thrown a rock and hit him in the face!

‹What … what do you call that?› he heard Elfangor ask.

"That? We call that softball. I pitch for Frank's Pro Shop Twins back home. All-city two years in a row."

‹What is softball?›

"It's a game we play."

‹And you hit people in the face with rocks?›

"Not usually."

Now that Esplin had gotten over his shock, he was furious. ‹So,› he seethed. ‹You propel rocks at me! You'll be very sorry you ever propelled a rock at me, human. Jarex! Larex! Attack!›

As the Mortrons began to accelerate, Esplin noticed Elfangor staring at them. ‹You admire my pets, Andalite?› He went on to explain where he had acquired them as Jarex and Larex quickly approached the border between the Yeerk and human patches. ‹They have amazing capacities, my young friend Elfangor. As you will soon see.›

‹What's the matter, Yeerk? Afraid to fight me tail-to-tail?›

Soon after the Mortrons crossed the border, their winged-portions separated from their wheeled-portions. Larex's wing-half flew directly at the Andalite.

"Elfangor!"

Esplin laughed maniacally. (Hah-hah! Kill, Jarex! Kill, Larex! Kill the Andalite!›

Elfangor sliced Larex's wing-portion in half, but Esplin wasn't worried. He knew both halves would grow again. Jarex swooped around behind the Andalite, not knowing that Elfangor's stalk eyes would see him.

FWAPP!

Jarex was now in two pieces as well, but Larex's halves were already growing into two more Mortrons, one with wheels and one without. Elfangor was staring again, astonished.

‹Are you doing the math in your head, Elfangor? They regenerate! Cut an attacking Mortron in pieces and each piece grows again to become a complete Mortron. It's the killing frenzy. It gives them an enzyme boost that makes them regenerate! Try to kill these four and you'll have eight. Kill those eight and you'll have sixteen! Thirty-two! Sixty-four!› Esplin's thought-speak got increasingly louder as he became more and more hyper.

‹Loren, I don't know what to do. If only I had a shredder!›

"Can you outrun them?"

‹Yes, I can. But you can't! They are faster than you are. And I won't leave you.›

"You won't have to. Maybe. How strong is your back? Never mind, it must be strong enough. Elfangor, don't be offended, okay?"

‹Offended by what?›

"Hold still. I'm gonna try something."

Esplin watched, puzzled. Then all four of his eyes widened as Loren hoisted herself onto Elfangor's back. ‹Okay, these humans are very strange,› he muttered to Alloran, who didn't respond.

"Now let's run."

‹With you on my back?) Elfangor was obviously no less surprised than Esplin was.

The piece of Larex that had become a fully-formed wheeled Mortron launched its winged-part.

"Elfangor, this is not the time to think. Run! Ruuuuun!"

The Andalite, with Loren straddling his back, raced away. The wheeled Mortrons followed, but Elfangor was too fast for them. The winged ones had even less hope of catching up. They stayed behind with Esplin.

Unfortunately this turn of events had spoiled his hyper, excited mood. He whacked the nearest Mortron — a Larex bird-portion — in half. Of course, both pieces grew into Mortrons again.

Esplin looked at the new Mortrons. He smiled with his eyes, then proceeded to amuse himself by hacking apart the rest of the Mortrons.


	20. Collision

**NOOOO! IT WON'T SHOW MY HORKIE HAPPY FACE! DIE! Someone seriously needs to e-mail the people.**

**random person: Why not you?**

**Me: Not you again, you evil stalker. And because I'm lazy, so there.**

**Anyway.**

**Korean Pearl – Well, you'll probably be happy now. This chapter's all interaction with Loren and Elfangor, and plenty of Esplin's rather "special" view of things. –nods- Yeah. Okay, this royally sucks. Not being able to do symbols, I mean. Ahem. Anyway, of course I'm going to continue it to the Animorph times! I'm not going to do every book, though, that would get too long … and anyway, I have a certain point I want to get to, heh-heh. You haven't read my first story, have you? –checks- well, according to those reviews you haven't. I haven't explained hardly anything important from IEH yet, so yeah, I have to keep going! By the way, I'm already into the first Animorph book. I just haven't posted that far yet. I have to write faster than I post, to avoid the devastating effects of writer's block.**

**I just found out I have another review for Blue And Yellow! Yay! I'd better redo that thing, now that the centering and stuff (supposedly) works …**

**Anonymous-cat – Yup. Aaaaahhh! Splinter's a hacker! oh not that kind of hacker … sorry. I have been EXTREMELY hyper lately. You think you've seen hyper, you haven't seen nothin' till you've seen me play four-square with a Controller (he is, really! just today I got _hard evidence_ that he's definitely a Yeerk!) and a bunch of other wackos. Anyway. Wow, I'm getting off the subject a lot. Um. Yeah, I love that line too, I always imagined him seething and hissing that through his nonexistent teeth … yeah.**

**Okay, my brain is completely shot, just read the chapter.**

**(Hah! It does work!)**

* * *

**Chapter 20**

‹Having fun?)

Esplin whirled around, thinking that Elfangor had come back. Then he realized it was his own host. ‹Oh, so you're talking to me now?)

Alloran considered. ‹Well, there's nothing else to do except watch you chop up those Mortrons with MY tail. You know, this little universe of yours probably isn't infinite. You'll end up overpopulating it.)

‹Who cares?)

‹What if you are trapped here forever?)

‹I won't be.)

‹How do you know?)

‹Shut up. I got in, I can get out. I suppose I have to find the Time Matrix. It's here somewhere.)

‹What if Elfangor reaches it first?)

‹You're so optimistic.)

‹What?)

‹I was being sarcastic.) Then Esplin realized that sarcasm was something he had picked up from Tarak and Chapman, something not comprehended by Andalites. (I don't suppose you have any ideas on how to get out of here. Then again, you'd rather have me stuck here for the rest of my life with nothing to do except slice and dice Mortrons, wouldn't you?)

‹The idea of spending the rest of _my_ life in this small universe with you and those Mortrons happens to be very unappealing. And no, I do not have any ideas and you know that, but if you look closely at this place around you I might come up with something.)

Esplin finally quit chopping the Mortrons and let his stalk eyes scan the area.

‹Wait! Look at the sky!)

Esplin focused one stalk eye upwards and let the other one scan. (Yes, what about it?) But he could already see what Alloran was thinking.

‹It's a pattern. This whole universe is a multidimensional spiral.)

‹So the Time Matrix must be at the center!)

‹One would assume so.)

Esplin was already off and running. Then he realized that he might encounter Elfangor again, so he ordered two of the complete Mortrons to come with him.

* * *

As he got closer to where Alloran had thought the center of the spiral would be, Esplin noticed that his gallop was getting slower and more awkward.

_Am I getting tired already?_

Suddenly he tripped and fell.

‹Aaaaahhh! Look at my hooves!)

‹They are MY hooves, you idiot, and they're just growing. Time seems to accelerate as we get nearer to the center.)

‹Lovely.) Esplin had to hack away the excess hoof before continuing. This gave the Mortrons a chance to catch up. ‹There! Is that the center?)

It was a swirling tornado, made up of bits of the Yeerk, human, and Andalite worlds.

‹The Time Matrix is in _there?_)

‹Probably.)

‹Only one way to find out.) Esplin rushed ahead and leaped into the raging vortex.

* * *

The first thing Esplin saw after he passed through the swirl was the Time Matrix.

"It's him!"

He jerked, then noticed Elfangor and Loren. ‹What? The Andalite child and his pet? Still alive?› In private thought-speak he instructed the Mortrons to come into the vortex.

‹Yes, still alive,› Elfangor responded.

"Elfangor," Loren moaned. Esplin looked at her and had to restrain a laugh. Her nails and hair were ridiculously long.

‹Stand perfectly still. Hold out your hands and don't move them.› Elfangor sliced at the overgrown nails, keeping his main eyes fixed on Esplin, who gave a sort of mental sigh.

‹I suppose we'll have to work together again.›

‹The same thing would happen. Another compromised universe. No better than this one. Only this time we'd all be more careful to bring allies and weapons from our memory.›

‹At least then we'd have a fair fight,› Esplin pointed out.

Loren stared at him. "He doesn't want to fight you one-on-one," she said to Elfangor.

‹No, he'd rather have a host of allies and weapons.›

"No, it's more than that," she insisted. "He's afraid to fight you one-on-one."

Esplin jerked.

"I saw it in his face."

Alloran was amused. ‹You don't think you can use my body to beat him in a tail fight?›

‹Of course I can.›

Alloran's response was to replay one of his memories of Elfangor furiously whacking away at Hork-Bajir-Controllers, killing or incapacitating all of them.

‹Stop trying to scare me. It's not working.›

Loren's voice cut into his thoughts. "He _is_ afraid, Elfangor."

‹Afraid of _what?_› Esplin snapped. ‹Of this Andalite child? My Mortrons and I will annihilate him!›

"Really? So why not do it? Why talk about working together? Alloran has seen you tail fight, Elfangor. That knowledge is the visser's now, right? That's why he's scared."

‹I'll be sure to kill you slowly, human,› Esplin threatened. ‹Kill!› he ordered the Mortrons. Their winged-halves separated from their wheels.

Two Mortron-portions attacked Elfangor, the other two Loren. But Elfangor had learned from his last encounter with them. He hit one Mortron with the flat of his tail, knocking it unconscious.

‹See?› Alloran said. ‹He's inexperienced but he learns fast.›

‹Well, so do I. This time I'm not leaving the battle to the Mortrons.› Esplin took a tail swipe at Elfangor as another Mortron tore at the Andalite's head.

FWAPP! Elfangor managed to block the strike.

Esplin immediately slashed again and missed. Elfangor also slashed and missed. The Mortron was ready to attack again.

FWAPP! Esplin struck again, and this time got a direct hit on Elfangor's chest. He slashed again, but Elfangor had recovered just enough to avoid it.

‹Ah, not so fast after all, are you, Andalite?›

‹This fight isn't over yet, Visser!› He whipped his tail. Esplin blocked it, but the next blow hit him without warning. (Aaaahhhh!)

The Mortron managed to hit Elfangor from behind.

Esplin slashed again, but the Andalite blocked and attacked in the same move!

‹Yes!› Elfangor yelled.

Esplin was newly energized with rage. He got ready for a powerful tail swipe as the Mortron dived toward Elfangor's head.

Suddenly … an apparently dead or unconscious Mortron flew through the air and hit the attacking Mortron!

"Softball!"

This distracted Esplin just long enough for Elfangor to block his tail blade.

Esplin looked at Loren, amazed. She had somehow killed the Mortron without slicing it in two, and was now proceeding to whack away at another Mortron with a strange-looking tapered stick.

‹Nice throw,› Elfangor observed.

"It's called a pitch. Thanks."

Elfangor turned one stalk eye back to Esplin. ‹Your Mortrons are done for, Visser. It's just you and me now. Tail-to-tail.›

‹I suppose you should have brought more than four of them,› Alloran said. He found the whole situation quite entertaining.

‹Shut up.› Esplin glared at Elfangor. ‹Now what?› he demanded of Alloran.

‹I am not helping you anymore.›

‹I thought you didn't want to be stuck with me forever.›

‹Yes, but then I realized something.›

‹What is it?› Esplin asked impatiently, but he knew now. Alloran had realized that the Time Matrix was the center of this universe, the only thing holding it together. If it disappeared —

‹You think you've won, Andalite?› he yelled at Elfangor. ‹You think you can kill me now? Guess again. You haven't thought it through. But then again, I have the advantage of adding Alloran's Andalite knowledge to my own. What do you think will happen to whoever is left in this universe once it is broken apart?›

Elfangor looked bewildered.

‹What? Over your head, is it? A collapsed time line returns us each to our own proper space-time location.›

‹So you go back to the _Jahar_. Back to being sucked into a black hole. I can live with that, Yeerk. I don't care how you die. Here, from my tail. Or there, drawn helplessly into a black hole. So long as you die. You are an abomination. The first Andalite-Controller. I just want you to be the last.›

"I told you he was scared to fight you."

‹I guess you were right.›

‹Oh, so you ARE afraid now,› Alloran jeered.

‹No, I'm _not_,› Esplin said. ‹I'll find a way out of that stupid ship and that stupid black hole.›

‹Why won't you fight him?›

‹It's not Elfangor I'm worried about. It's that pesky human.›

‹So instead of the Andalite with the tail blade, you're afraid of the human with zero natural weapons.›

‹I'm not _afraid_ of her! She has that _un_natural weapon — that stick that she used on the Mortrons. And she gets those completely insane ideas.›

‹And this is coming from you.›

‹Shut up.›

‹You seem to like that phrase.›

Esplin ignored Alloran's last remark. ‹I meant things like her riding on the Andalite's back. See, I'd fight either one of them alone. But not both. That's not a fair fight.›

‹So you would rather be sucked into a black hole?›

‹I'm NOT going to give Elfangor the satisfaction of killing me.›

‹I see.›

‹The day will come, Elfangor,› Esplin said out loud, ‹when I will destroy you. I will make it personal. I will make it very personal.›

He stepped back into the swirling vortex that surrounded them.


	21. Looming

**Yeah, me again, I probably shouldn't be doing this but since I love y'all so much … and I figure I better do SOMETHING special on my half-birthday, being exactly 15.5 years old noo.  
(Note: This was written on November 15, I tried to upload it that day but ffnet was being slooow and uncooperative.) **

**Anonymous-cat – yeah, I thought of that and it is explained in this chapter, which also fulfills the wish you expressed. Yay. **

**Korean Pearl – Well, by helping Esplin, Alloran has a chance of either being freed (very small chance) or being killed (much more probable). If he lives out the rest of his days on the small universe they've created, he has almost zero chance of either. On their interaction – thank you. I have to make the most of that, because everything else was pretty much described already in the Andalite Chronicles.**

* * *

**Chapter 21**

‹I'm also going to destroy that bothersome human girl someday,› Esplin said when they were outside the vortex.

‹Sure you are,› Alloran said.

‹For the last time, shut up.›

‹No.›

‹So shouldn't this place be dissolving right about now?›

But before he had even finished the sentence, the universe started to shift. Slowly at first, then faster and faster. Yeerk, Andalite, Earth portions separated as the vortex became a powerful sucking vacuum which nothing could escape.

‹AAAAAAaaaaaaahhh!›

Esplin happened to be in a patch of Andalite landscape, which quickly blended with other Andalite patches streaming toward the vortex at an incredible speed. It was a three-armed spiral. Esplin could see the Yeerk arm and the human arm swirling toward the vortex as well.

‹Is this what it feels like to get sucked into a black hoooooooooole?!›

‹I suppose you'll find out. After we get to the center. We're almost there — ›

* * *

Suddenly they _were_ there.

There, on the _Jahar_, with the unconscious human Chapman. Slowly sinking into the black hole.

‹You said you knew a way out … _Esplin_.›

‹I said I'd find a way out. That's different.›

‹So start finding.›

‹I can't if you keep annoying me.›

‹Hurry up and think of something because we are all going to die if you don't. And that would be a tragedy.›

He didn't want to escape, Esplin realized. Alloran would rather die than spend the remainder of his life as a Controller. ‹I thought you didn't get sarcasm.›

‹You and Elfangor are not the only fast learners in the universe.›

For lack of anything better to do, Esplin exploded. ‹KINDLY shut up and let me think of something! Oh. Right. You're not going to. Wonderful.›

He looked around, saw the unlit controls, the dark bulkhead, the unconscious Chapman —

‹Chapman!›

‹Now what are you doing?› Alloran demanded.

The human's upper half was tied up. Esplin quickly freed him with his tail.

‹Chapman, if you can hear me, it's Esplin. You remember me? We're being sucked into a black hole and we are all going to DIE IF YOU DON'T WAKE UP!›

"Aaaaaahhh!" Chapman yelled. "What the heck?! You scared me to death!"

‹No, I scared you to LIFE, because the only way we're NOT going to die is if YOU THINK OF A PLAN!›

"Why me?"

‹Because I have an annoying Andalite host who is keeping me from thinking clearly!›

"Okay. So what's up? Why are we gonna die?"

‹BECAUSE WE ARE SINKING INTO A BLACK HOLE!›

"Oh. Crap. And you expect me to think of a plan to get us out of here?"

‹YES!›

"Does this ship work?"

‹NO!›

"Is there any sort of communicator thing that runs on its own power?"

‹NO!›

"Can you stop yelling?"

‹NO!›

"Then we're dead."

‹Lovely.›

"Unless this black hole doesn't kill us."

‹What do you mean? It's a black hole, of course it's going to kill us.›

"Who knows? Maybe it just, like, transports you somewhere else in the universe."

‹What are you TALKING about? Leave the scientific speculations to the more advanced species.›

‹That would be ME,› Alloran said. ‹Not you. Even if you do have access to my brain, which by all rights you shouldn't, but then by all rights I shouldn't be here being sucked into a black hole with a crazy human and a crazier Yeerk.›

"Hey, if we're going to die, I can speculate all I want!"

‹Arrgh, shut up and let me LIVE MY LAST MOMENTS IN PEACE!›

"Anyone have any last words?"

‹How about … SHUT UP!›

Esplin began to amuse himself by exploring the parts of Alloran's brain he'd been saving till later, now that it looked like there wasn't going to BE a later. However, Alloran's current depressing thoughts were bothering him.

He was just debating with himself about whether to amuse himself by killing Chapman since they were all going to die anyway, when suddenly there was a brilliant flash of light and everything completely disappeared.


	22. Frustration

**Chapter 22**

You see, neither the Ellimist nor Crayak were exactly crazy about the idea of the three nutcase occupants of the _Jahar_ gaining the power to manipulate space-time.

So Chapman's memory was erased and he was transported back to Earth.

As for Esplin …

* * *

"_Andalite!_"

‹What?› Esplin said.

"There's an Andalite in here! — Wait, never mind, it's just Esplin. Impersonating Tarak."

‹_Hekliss?_›

He opened his eyes and saw that he was in a Bug fighter. A familiar Hork-Bajir-Controller was glaring at him.

‹Am I dead?›

"The last I heard you were," Hekliss retorted. "I thought you'd died in a black hole."

‹Well I was just about to until a few seconds ago!›

"You have a talent for getting into situations and making everyone think that you couldn't have survived, and then … surviving."

‹Apparently. Where's Chapman?›

"Who is Chapman?"

‹Never mind. Where am I?›

"You're back on the Taxxon world."

‹Wonderful. Well, that's better than being dead. I think. I'm tired. I'm going to sleep right here right now and no one is going to stop me!›

"It sounds like you have had way too much excitement."

‹Hekliss, you keep watch.›

"Ah well, it's not like I have anything else to do," she said sarcastically.

Esplin ignored her and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

Much happened in the next several years.

Before he had encountered Elfangor back at the Graysha Nebula, Esplin had sent a report of the discovery of the humans to Olgin base, the transition point between the Hork-Bajir and Taxxon worlds. Yeerks stationed there were supposed to be on the lookout for any possible Class-Five host species — hosts that existed in very large numbers and did not have any physical drawbacks. From what Esplin had observed in Chapman's memories, humans appeared to be definitely Class Five. Yet he heard no reply from Olgin for a long time.

Even though he was a visser, Esplin could do nothing about the lack of action. He was still not quite high-ranking enough to have authority over the Yeerks at Olgin base.

In the meantime he was outfitted with a new Blade ship and sent to lead several expeditions searching for other new host species. The aliens he found were mostly Class One, which were unfit for infestation, or Class Two, which the Yeerks weren't going to bother infesting since they already had plenty of Gedds and Taxxons. However, he did find a few Class-Three species, which did not exist in large numbers but would still make good host bodies. The discovery of these races earned him some major promotions.

One species worth noting was the barely-sentient Tricablins, which seemed to be Class Three — until the Yeerks found out they were not the dominant species of their world but were actually the slaves of another race who, although they stood only a quarter-of-an-inch tall, were quite advanced and did not take kindly to the infestation of their Tricablins. These Helmacrons, who dreamed of a galactic empire of their own, ended up harassing the Yeerks so much that they left the Tricablin/Helmacron planet in a hurry.

In between searching for new hosts, Esplin took the opportunity to acquire large, fierce, predatory morphs from the planets he visited. On his own he returned to the Hork-Bajir home world to acquire most of the monsters in Father Deep, including the _Jubba-Jubba_ that he'd seen Aldrea-Iskillion-Falan morph long ago. He also managed to secretly land on the Andalite world and acquire a few animals like the _kafit_ bird Elfangor had morphed to escape from the Yeerks on the Taxxon planet.

Tarak 9375 was never heard from, and it was assumed that he'd been killed by Elfangor. Esplin occasionally missed his old friend … but he still had many of his siblings to keep him company, especially Hekliss, who usually accompanied him as a subordinate on his various expeditions.

* * *

Finally, not long after Esplin had been promoted from Visser Fifteen to Visser Eleven for discovering yet another Class-Three race, the report came back from Sub-Visser Ninety-two at Olgin base: A Sub-Visser Four-hundred-nine had taken the initiative to find Earth on her own, and had discovered that the humans were indeed a Class-Five race with "superior dexterity and above average sensory capabilities" and a population of approximately five billion. They could even be convinced to accept infestation voluntarily — no violence necessary.

‹Hah-HAH!› Esplin exulted to no one in particular. See, I told you, you slow fools! If it wasn't for me this sub-visser wouldn't have even known humans existed!›

"What are you yelling about?" Hekliss demanded.

‹The humans, the humans! They're Class Five and there are _billions_ of them and the Empire has finally decided to investigate their planet!›

"And you are this excited because … ?"

‹If the Council has any brains at all they'll promote me, and probably let me lead the invasion of Earth too, hah-hah!›

"I don't know. You saw how slow they were to respond to your report about the humans."

‹I didn't report directly to them, I reported to Olgin, and they didn't do anything about it. The Council probably never knew,› Esplin realized. Stupid stupid good-for-nothing Olgin Yeerks. But it's all right now.›

* * *

The Council of Thirteen ended up promoting Esplin to Visser Three.

As for leading the Earth invasion, they informed him that he could as soon as the position was open, but for now they were allowing Sub-Visser Four-hundred-nine to continue her operations there. She would also be getting a huge promotion for "initiative, resourcefulness, and making a major contribution to the advancement of the Yeerk Empire."

‹And what did _I_ do?› fumed Esplin. ‹Did she discover the humans? No! If I hadn't sent the report she couldn't have done anything! Did _she_ almost get killed by a black hole?›

"What does that have to do with anything?" Hekliss asked. They were on the bridge of the Blade ship, over by the communications system.

‹Why are you always here to bother me when I get these reports?›

"Because I happen to spend a lot of time around you trying to alleviate my boredom."

‹You're supposed to be alleviating MY boredom.›

"Of course the process reciprocates."

‹I hate that Sub-Visser Four-hundred-nine, or whatever they're promoting her to,› Esplin said.

"Why?"

‹They're giving HER the credit for being the first human-Controller! It was me! Just because I didn't mention that I'd infested a human in my report! I hate her! I hate her! I hate her!›

"All _right_, Esplin. Calm down now."

‹I'M CALM!›

All the other Controllers on the Blade ship's bridge cringed.

"You are not," Hekliss stated.

‹What do you know?!›

"I know you're screaming." She lowered her voice. "You know, Esplin, there's a rumor going around that you're … not mentally stable."

‹WHY does everyone say I'm crazy?›

‹Maybe because there's some truth to it?› put in Alloran.

‹Haven't I told you before to shut up?›

‹Haven't I told you before — no?›

‹If I'm insane,› Esplin said out loud, ‹it's because everyone drives me insane!›

"Oh, so it's everyone else's fault."

‹Yes!›

"Fine then. I'll leave you alone with your insanity."

After this parting shot, Hekliss raced away from the bridge.

**

* * *

**

**Okay, to clarify something in the last author's note … I said that ffnet was being slow and uncooperative. Why will it not let me type f f . n e t ? it's been deleting that in reviews too. Why make me type the whole thing out? **

**Anyway. **

**Korean Pearl – Your wish is my command :) **

**Anonymous-cat – Well, Chapman was partly right … Yeah, in some of the earlier chapters I was missing a lot of the banter which provided so much comic relief in the Insanity Equals Happiness quintilogy. So I'm happy to be able to insert some now. Plus it makes the Yeerks seem more "human", so readers can relate … yeah. Banter is good. **

**Hopefully this chapter was of satisfactory length. I considered cutting it off much earlier, but decided that was too evil. heh heh.**

**Do these colored lines really work? Oh well, I'm about to find out. **

**Okay, they don't seem to work... so what is the purpose? I'm confused. They must be experimenting, I suppose.**

**Salad Shooter `Ô›**


	23. Infuriation

**I THOUGHT I'd posted this chapter once already. Apparently not.**

**Anonymous-cat – no, the colored lines didn't work. they were all different colors. why does f f . n e t give you the opportunity to choose colors and then not put them in? Tarak … well, you'll find out …  
**

**KP – Yeah, everyone loves those Helmacrons. I have two of them as main characters in one of my upcoming stories! (Which, incidentally, I still don't have a title for … and I'm considering splitting it up into ten? different books. easier. not as overwhelming for people) Yeah, I had fun doing the history part, filling in some of the blanks that KA left. Answering things I myself had always wondered about. Fanfiction is so great.  
**

**To any fans of AniTubbies … I have writer's block. I've written a good amount of the third chapter but still don't have a plot for it. Any ideas?**

* * *

**Chapter 23**

Not long after that, Esplin and the Yeerks under his command ran into an Andalite Dome ship and were forced to fight. Although the Andalites had had the element of surprise, they were outnumbered when a nearby Pool ship heard the Blade ship's call for aid and come to the Yeerks' rescue. The Dome ship was quickly disabled, and Esplin slowly brought his Blade ship around to finish it off.

‹Aim at the remaining engines,› Esplin ordered the Controllers who were operating weapons.

‹Fire!›

On the viewscreen he saw the Dracon beams lance through space and burn away the Dome ship's engines.

Suddenly —

"Visser Three!" called Temrash 252, a Hork-Bajir. "An Andalite fighter is calling you! He said to tell you that Elfangor has come to finish — "

_What? _Esplin switched on his own communications screen.

A familiar Andalite face was displayed on the monitor.

‹You!› screeched Esplin.

‹I have to congratulate you on escaping from that black hole,› Elfangor said. ‹And I hear you've been promoted, Yeerk. Visser _Three_. Very impressive. But I have to tell you, Yeerk, I am aimed straight for your ship. And in exactly ten seconds I will punch up Maximum Burn. At this distance it will take me less than two seconds to impact your ship.›

‹You're bluffing!›

‹No, he's not,› said Alloran.

‹Ten … Nine … › Elfangor began.

‹You'd be killed as well as me!› Esplin protested.

‹Yes, I would. Seven … Six … ›

‹All Dracon beams on that fighter!› he ordered.

‹You don't have enough time, Visser. And once I punch Maximum Burn it will be too late. Four … Three … Two … One … ›

‹Get us out of here, top speed!› Esplin finally yelled at Yaheen 747, who was stationed at the helm. The Blade ship fired its engines.

Alloran laughed in his head. ‹You're too late, Esplin.›

BOOOOOOM!

The bridge was ripped away from the rest of the Blade ship. Esplin and most of the other Yeerks were knocked unconscious, but Hekliss was able to hit the emergency air release. Of course, this only benefited the Yeerks on the bridge. Anyone unfortunate enough to be in the other piece of the ship was doomed.

When another Andalite Dome ship appeared, the Pool ship surrounded the Blade ship with a containment field and escaped into Zero-space.

* * *

The Blade ship was repaired, the comatose Yeerks revived … but Esplin was experiencing renewed hatred of Elfangor. He vowed that someday, somehow, he would destroy that Andalite no matter what it took.


	24. Relocation

**Chapter 24**

_~Several Years Later~_

At last the Yeerk in charge of Earth, the one who had ranked Sub-visser Four-hundred-nine at one time, was being transferred. Esplin was back on the Taxxon world at the time — because for a long while he had not been able to find any suitable host species — when he heard the news.

‹Hekliss Hekliss Hekliss! Oh, there you are.›

"What what _what?_ What do you want? I happen to be engaged in a task at the moment!"

‹I have really good news! Can't you stop cleaning the floor of that Bug fighter long enough to listen to me? Who told you to do that anyway? It wasn't me.›

"Sub-Visser Ninety-eight."

‹I should have known. He's so obsessed with clean ships … with clean _everything_ … Well, those orders are now rescinded. At least for the moment, because I want you to listen to me now.›

Hekliss relented and climbed to her feet. "So what is this 'really good news' all about?"

‹The sub-visser, or whatever she is, who was leading the Earth invasion got promoted and is going to be stationed somewhere else. So her position is wide open, and of course you know who's getting it.›

"Yes. You. Finally."

‹I'm to go there with the next shipment of Yeerks!›

"Am I on that shipment?"

Esplin could hardly contain his excitement. ‹You're going to be. I don't care if you're on the list or not. One Yeerk more or less won't be an issue.›

"Have you even looked at the list?"

‹Well, no.›

Esplin used the Bug fighter's informational computers to bring up the list. ‹Yes, your name's on it. Most of the Yeerks under my command are on it, actually.›

"Good. I'm getting sick of being either here or in space. So what was that sub-visser promoted to?"

‹I don't know.›

"Well, as long as that computer is up and running, you could find out."

‹Why?›

"Just curious."

There was a moment of silence and then —

‹She _what?_ She got promoted to WHAT? That is NOT RIGHT!›

"What?"

‹She's _Visser One!_ She outranks me! That's wrong! I've done so much more from the Empire than her. She manipulated the Council somehow! I hate her!›

"You said that last time."

‹Well I hate her even more now! If she was here now I'd — I would — ›

"You've never even met her."

‹So? First she stole the species that _I_ discovered, now she steals the rank that I deserve!›

"Esplin, it's only a difference of two places."

‹Two places is a big difference for me!›

"Why?"

‹Simple proportions. There's forty-something vissers total, and hundreds of sub-vissers, but only nine single-digit vissers. THAT'S WHY!›

"_Stop_ that, Esplin. Please. My head hurts."

Esplin shut up and stomped out of the fighter, his Andalite hooves clattering.

* * *

That was how Esplin 9466 became the leader of the invasion of Earth as Visser Three.

The Yeerks that went with him were all given human hosts eventually. Esplin made sure to give his sister a mostly harmless host … or at any rate, one that _appeared_ to be harmless — but that is another story. His reasoning was that although Hekliss was the only Yeerk he allowed to annoy him, he was determined not to give her any other power over him.

He attributed the fact that Hekliss was recruiting no new human-Controllers to her young host having little power over other humans, and to Hekliss herself being better at intelligence matters (as well as odd jobs) than at capturing host bodies. But he did not know the main reason. He had no idea that as soon as Hekliss infested her first human and looked around at the Earth-based Yeerk pool through Leela Harper's eyes, she immediately thought _What have we become? Why are we doing this to these humans?_ and made up her mind to eventually free every human host she was given. Yet Hekliss still pretended to be happy about the conquest of Earth, because she didn't know how far her younger brother's patience towards her would extend if he found out she'd turned "traitor" to the Yeerk cause.

Esplin's twin brother had also come to Earth, no longer to be a Taxxon-Controller. Instead Esplin the secondary was given a human male with a relatively unimportant job in a factory. He never spoke to the visser; in fact he made every attempt to avoid him. Having a Taxxon host for so long had changed the lesser twin in ways that his brother couldn't understand.

Esplin the primary acquired a human morph by performing a _Frolis Maneuver_ and combining the DNA of several humans. It was actually his first morph — he had never gotten a chance to try out the various alien beasts he'd acquired. He was saving them for close-range battle with Andalites.

It did take him a while to get over the Andalite-in-human-morph inclination to play with sounds, so he refrained from morphing human around his lower-ranking subordinates for a while. And he soon learned not to eat human food unless he was in his own private quarters on his Blade ship (which he had begun to adorn with models of various torture devices. It was a means of relieving stress — he'd just imagine them being used on whoever was frustrating him at the time. It was actually quite effective).

He was startled to see his former host Chapman one day, still alive and seemingly unhurt. Esplin had his subordinate Iniss 226 infest Chapman, only to find that the human remembered nothing of his adventures with Elfangor. Iniss stayed in Chapman since he had a useful position as the principal of a human junior high school.

Esplin had to continue the slow, steady infiltration that Visser One had begun. He didn't like it, but it _had_ been working well so far. He kept The Sharing, Visser One's Controller-recruiting group, going strong, but he always looked forward to the day when he'd be able to take over Earth with Dracon beams flashing and making a lot of noise.

And yes … he was steadily going insane.


	25. Transformation

**Yeah, it's me, the Walking Salad Shooter from Heaven. So I haven't been here for a while … I've been busy, okay? I haven't been doing any of my normal internet stuff. but 'tis Spring Break now, so here's an exciting new chappie. And by the way, the number of reviews for this story has now exceeded the number of IEH's reviews. so thank you to all my lovely reviewers:**

**Aldrea – thanks for all the reviews … and the cookie :eats cookie:**

**Anonymous-Cat – yup, that does tie into IEH, and it won't be the last time that happens. Did you read it :checks: okay, you have read IEH, just not all of it. Well, like I said, there will be more. and oh yeah, the torture thingy - I remembered the iron maiden and stuff from book 25 and it kinda stuck with me.**

**KP – Thanks, I had a lot of fun with it :)**

**Edriss – Yay! You get to join the special club of people who like Visser Three! Good, cause we need more members, especially since some people haven't shown up in forever :coughcoughJaDcough: anyway, thank you for the lovely compliments.**

**Sinister Shadow – well … this is three days after your review, does that count as soon?**

**Enjoy this new chapter …**

* * *

**Chapter 25**

"Visser! Andalite ships coming out of Zero-space!"

Esplin whirled his stalk eyes around to peer at the Blade ship's viewscreen, which displayed an Andalite Dome ship just beginning to dispatch its fighters. The orbiting Pool ship was already maneuvering itself into a fighting position. ‹Somebody alert Sub-Visser One-hundred-ten down on the planet! Illim 418, you do that. Tell him to get any available Yeerks up here for space battle — I want as many Bug fighters in action as possible!›

"Um … there is an Andalite fighter requesting two-way communication with you."

_Argh, don't tell me it's Elfangor again._ ‹Who and why?›

"It's Prince Elfangor, Visser."

‹_Prince_ Elfangor? He's a prince now? Tell him no, I don't want to talk to him, I'm going to kill him!›

"They're separating the dome from the rest of the ship."

‹Ignore the dome. Aim for the battle bridge.›

"Dracon beams powered. Target acquired."

‹Then fire!›

TSSSEEEEEEWWWWWW!

TSSSEEEEEEWWWWWW!

TSSSEEEEEEWWWWWW!

With a brilliant flash of light, the Dome ship exploded.

‹_Yes!_ Hah-hah!›

More Bug fighters were arriving on the scene, while the Blade ship joined the Yeerk mother ship in picking off the Andalite fighters one by one. However, one Andalite fighter seemed to be especially well-handled, taking out Bug fighters left and right and even getting in a few shots at the Blade ship. Fortunately, Esplin's ship was bigger and sturdier, able to resist the weaker shredder fire of the little fighter. The Blade ship sustained only very minor damage.

Esplin guessed rightly that Prince Elfangor was piloting that particular fighter. ‹Shoot him! That fighter that just hit us. Fire at it!›

TSSSEEEEEEWWWWWW!

The Dracon shot blasted a hole in the side of the ship and annihilated the fighter's left engine. Yet Elfangor kept flying, although slightly lopsided, down toward the planet surface.

"The Pool ship just destroyed the last two Andalite fighters," Diptran 7875 reported. "Except for this one we damaged just now."

‹Very well. Take us down to pursue that fighter. Tell the other Bug fighters not to follow, except for our two fighters. All other Yeerks should resume their normal business.›

Just about every Controller on the Blade ship wondered something like, _And what are WE doing? _… but they knew better than to question their visser's order.

* * *

As the ship drew closer to the planet surface, Esplin could see the fighter had landed among several partly-finished human buildings. The Andalite — who was indeed Elfangor — was lying on the ground nearby.

The two Bug fighters were the first to land. Their fiery spotlights illuminated the Andalite, counteracting the darkness of Earth's night. They also flickered off the faces of a few human-Controllers, probably curious about what Esplin was going to do. He decided to yell at them later. Right now the Blade ship had to disintegrate a human construction machine before it could touch down next to the fighters.

‹He might be leading us into a trap,› Esplin said. ‹I want all Hork-Bajir out of the ship first, followed by the Taxxons. Do not kill the Andalite. I repeat, do not kill the Andalite! The death I have planned for him will be inflicted on the Yeerk who disobeys my order!›

Some Yeerks gave him a surprised look, but all obeyed. The Controllers circled Elfangor's fighter, Dracon beams at the ready, waiting for Esplin's next command.

Esplin stepped out of the Blade ship and walked over to the wounded Andalite. ‹Well, well. What have we here? A meddling Andalite?›

Elfangor made no response.

‹Ah, but no ordinary Andalite warrior. Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, if I am not mistaken. An honor to meet you. You're a legend,› Esplin said, his voice fairly dripping with sarcasm. ‹How many of our fighters have you shredded? Seven, or was it eight by the time the battle ended?›

Still the Andalite was silent.

‹The very last Andalite in this sector of space,› Esplin continued. ‹Yes, I'm afraid your Dome ship has been completely destroyed. Completely. I watched it burn as it fell into the atmosphere of this little world.›

Actually, only the bridge section had burned; the dome itself had fallen into the largest of Earth's oceans — but Elfangor didn't need to know that.

‹There will be others,› Elfangor shot back.

‹Yes,› Esplin acknowledged, ‹and when they come it will be too late. This world will be mine. My own "contribution to the Yeerk Empire." Our greatest conquest. And then I'll be Visser _One_.›

‹What do you want with these humans?› the Andalite burst out. ‹You have your Taxxon allies. You have your Hork-Bajir slaves. And other slaves from other worlds. Why these people?›

‹Because there are so many,› replied Esplin, and they are so weak. Billions of bodies! And they have no idea what's happening. With this many hosts we can spread throughout the universe, unstoppable! Billions of us. We'll have to build a thousand new Yeerk pools just to raise Yeerks for half this number of bodies. Face it, Andalite, you have fought well and bravely. But you have lost.›

As Esplin stepped closer, Elfangor pushed himself up so that he was standing right in front of the Andalite-Controller.

Esplin, suddenly angry, leaned over in his face and hissed, I promise you one thing, Prince Elfangor — when we have this planet, with its rich harvest of bodies, we will move against the Andalite home world. I will personally hunt down your family. And I will personally oversee the placement of my most faithful lieutenants in their heads. I hope that they will resist, so I can hear their minds scream.›

An abrupt movement! Esplin jerked his head out of the way, but Elfangor's tail blade sank into his shoulder.

‹Aaaaaarrrrrgh!›

TSSEEEEEWWW!

The Andalite's ship had fired its shredders! The nearest Bug fighter was partly damaged.

‹Fire! Burn his ship!› Esplin screeched.

When the Andalite fighter had been completely annihilated, Esplin turned to three of his strongest Hork-Bajir-Controllers. ‹Take the Andalite. Hold him for me.›

‹What are you going to do?› Alloran ventured to ask.

‹I've been waiting for this moment,› Esplin muttered grimly. He focused on the monster he had most recently acquired: the Antarean Bogg.

‹Why?›

‹Don't break my concentration.›

His head was the first thing to change. It expanded, becoming almost too heavy for his body. The two legs on each side melted into one, then became larger and layered with muscle. Finally his body grew just enough to support the massive head and sprouted long, powerful tentacles. His stalk eyes and tail withered away, and his face split open to form an unbelievably wide toothy mouth.

‹What are you DOING?› Alloran hissed in his head.

‹Why do you think I acquired all those creatures?›

Then, the mind and instincts of the Bogg rose up like a raging fire.

The beast was hungry … agonizingly hungry …

_So,_ thought Esplin faintly, before the monster's mind completely overpowered his own, _so this is what it feels like to be a Taxxon._


	26. Um, ingestion?

**Wow … *looks around guiltily* I did leave you guys at a cliffhanger, didn't I? **

**Well, I'm back now, with a few more chapters. Sorry! School and everything! It's over now! **

**The one and only Walking Salad Shooter from Heaven is now 16 years old and has had a account for over three years! (Well, Rachel's had this account, anyway … I've used it for that long.)**

**and I just discovered this story's been going for two years ... aaaaaahhh!**

**okay, here's the new chappie.**

**

* * *

Chapter 26 **

"R-r-r-r-a-a-a-w-w-w-w-g-g-g!"

This Antarean Bogg was Esplin's first non-sentient morph, and Alloran's first carnivorous morph; thus the Yeerk was quite unprepared for the powerful predatory instincts.

‹Esplin, are you in control of this morph?› Alloran demanded. ‹_Are you in control of this morph?_ ANSWER ME!›

No response.

‹Esplin!›

Still no response, except for another "R-r-r-r-r-r-a-a-a-a-g-g-g!"

‹ESPLIN!›

‹What … ?›

‹GET CONTROL NOW!›

‹I … I can't! The Bogg is too hungry!›

‹So eat a Taxxon or something!›

Esplin finally remembered what he was doing. He shot out one huge tentacle and wrapped it around Elfangor's neck.

‹That's not a Taxxon!› Alloran yelled. ‹I said eat a _Taxxon!_›

‹The whole point of morphing this thing was to kill him, you idiot!›

‹Don't!› Alloran screeched as Esplin held the Andalite prince over his gaping mouth. ‹Stop it!›

‹Don't stop it?› the Yeerk wondered vaguely.

‹SHUT UP AND PUT HIM DOWN!›

‹There's … only one place … this morph is going to … put him down … ›

‹Esplin!›

But Esplin was once again too caught up in the Bogg's mind to answer. He let go of Elfangor and let him drop.

‹Nooooooo!›

* * *

**Uh-oh, I just discovered something ... I haven't written any farther than that ... okay, I've written like two very short paragraphs of the next chapter. well hooray, I feel proud, my posting has caught up to my writing, which says something about how often I write.**

**well, I'll write more. Soon. I'll try anyway.**

**props to my lovely reviewers - for being so patient. heh heh.**

**Anonymous-cat- well, this is going to go _further than _the Animorphs, meaning it will continue after 54. The Animorph episodes will kind of be rushed through ... you all know what happens with them, it'll be mainly behind-the-scenes stuff. am I making any sense?**

**Korean Pearl - thank you! hehe, no problem, I post on the run a lot.**

**Edriss - Thank you as well. -bows- I think that deserves an "I'm special!" sticker. I don't believe you have one yet. This is another of the pretty-coloured ones - all blue and yellow -so take extra good care of it.**

**problem is, after this scene, I don't know where to go next. is there anything anyone is wondering about, that happens in the Animorph books, like from 2 to 23, that they would like me to go more behind-the-scenes on? especially having to do with Visser Three? I'm probably going to expand on his encounters with Visser One, but other than that?**


	27. Confusion

**Yes, I'm back. Yes, I'm a horrible person for not updating for two years. I'm sorry. But little Salad Shooter, who at the beginning of her fanfiction career was a mere 12 years old, is now 18! Woot!**

**But here I am. Newly inspired. Heh-heh. And here's the reviewers' response, if any of you guys are still out there ...**

**Sinister Shadow: Yes, here it is. Longer. But no Visser One yet. (Well, she does get mentioned ... ) But I'll get there. Sorry for keeping you waiting SOOO LONG.**

**Anonymous-cat: You read my mind. Those were the ones I was planning to do. **

**Edriss: YES. I totally agree with you.**

**I love you all, faithful reviewers. Now I suppose I'll see how really faithful you are ... sigh I can't believe I let this sit that long.**

**But anyway. On to ... THE STORY.**

* * *

**Chapter 27 **

‹Esplin!› Unable to do anything else, Alloran tried to block out the repulsive sensations as the Antarean Bogg greedily consumed the Andalite. ‹Esplin, regain control _now!_›

Still no answer. A piece of the Andalite dropped out of his mouth and was immediately devoured by a Taxxon.

The Hork-Bajir- and human-Controllers were laughing. Meaningless background noise. Irrelevant to the Bogg.

‹ESPLIN!›

‹ … what … food … more food … ›

‹Demorph before you eat someone else,› Alloran begged. He knew his shock, his repulsion, his sheer uncontrollable fear were right there for the Yeerk to see. He knew Esplin would mock him later. He didn't care. This was awful. He hadn't expected it. Not even from a Yeerk. Not even from Esplin. So Alloran didn't care that his body would have been quivering in terror if his body had actually been his own.

But right now, Esplin didn't care either, because the Bogg didn't care.

‹DEMORPH!› Alloran yelled. He desperately sent a mental image of himself as Andalite. ‹Focus! You are Andalite! Andalite!›

It was revolting to Alloran, calling this Yeerk creature, this Yeerk who had done such a terrible thing, an Andalite. But it was the only way. It was his own Andalite body who possessed the morphing ability, not the Yeerk inside. Esplin could never demorph by thinking ‹Yeerk.› He had to think ‹Andalite.›

And yes … slowly, slowly, the monstrous form began to shrink … the tentacles sucked into his body with a _shwoop_ing noise … the two legs became four … and the proud Andalite form emerged from the monster's hideous mass.

‹I lied,› Alloran sneered as the morphing process completed. ‹You are no Andalite. You never could be one. And either you're not even worthy to be called a Yeerk … or you Yeerks are even lower life-forms than I thought.›

‹Shut up,› Esplin replied. But he knew it wasn't an idle insult. He could see quite clearly that this was exactly what Alloran thought of him. This … and worse. It infuriated him. He knew that it was ridiculous to care about the opinion of a host body. But he was in no mood to be reasonable. ‹The most important thing in war is to destroy your enemies. Nothing is more important than destroying your enemies. Sound familiar?›

‹You're Yeerks. This is why we destroy you. Because you do things like … like _this_.›

‹We could easily say the same about you Andalites.› Esplin called up the memory of the Quantum virus.

Alloran had no answer for that. He simply fumed with wordless hate.

* * *

As the laughter of his fellow Controllers died down, Esplin realized that they were waiting for him to say something, to do something. ‹Ah,› he began, ‹nothing like a good Antarean Bogg morph for … taking a bite out of your enemies.›

More nervous laughter. Esplin attempted to brush aside Alloran's thoughts and fully regain his composure.

Suddenly — noise! Humans! Five young humans racing away from the scene. Esplin cursed silently. How much had they seen? How much had they heard? The secrecy of the Earth invasion was vital! At least for now.

But before he could order his Hork-Bajir to overtake them, the Hork-Bajir themselves were off, as if they had read his mind. Normally things like that irked Esplin. But he was too busy being majorly irked already to be irked any further. At least for the moment.

Why was he irked? He'd just accomplished what he'd been trying to do for years. He, Esplin-Nine-Four-Double-Six the primary, had finished off Elfangor the Andalite, the Yeerk-scourge. His own personal nemesis. The one person who, up until now, had been the major cause of Esplin's most severe irkedness. Other than Visser One, of course.

Still, Esplin was irked. Irked at Alloran, irked at the meddling humans, irked at the Antarean Bogg for being such a fiercely uncontrollable morph, irked at Elfangor because his death had not improved Esplin's mood in the least.

He decided to go back into his Blade ship and let the Hork-Bajir deal with the humans. Maybe he'd stare at the torture devices for awhile, or replay Elfangor's last moments in his head. Only, he had been so caught up in the Bogg morph that it was hard to remember the details. It was all just a blur.

‹I hate you,› he said randomly out of frustration.

The Controllers within thought-speak range jerked. Alloran said, ‹Who, me?›

And Esplin yelled, ‹All of you! You're all idiots!›

The Controllers began to quake in fear.

Esplin focused his stalk eyes at the sky. ‹As soon as the humans are captured, everyone back aboard the Blade ship. We're going back into orbit.›

But soon the Hork-Bajir who had been pursuing the humans came running up. Shaking. Almost on the verge of collapse. Not a good sign.

‹Don't tell me. They got away.›

"Visser, we try, we try! They _hafnorsh!_ Disappear!" the poor Hork-Bajir who had led the chase begged.

‹THEY ARE FIVE PUNY HUMANS!› Esplin raged. And in an instant, the Hork-Bajir was no longer in one piece. Actually, he was no longer even in two pieces. In fact, he was very quickly in more pieces than it was possible to count in the muted light from the ships. ‹I guess that's a testimony to the intelligence level of the Yeerks under MY command.›

He glared at the rest of the Controllers, who were partly stunned from witnessing the fate of the unlucky Hork-Bajir, but also glad that their visser's attention had been temporarily diverted from themselves. ‹Remember this, all of you: You are expendable. We have an entire poolful of hostless Yeerks just waiting to take your place. And I have ZERO tolerance for idiots. We have just achieved a major victory and I am NOT going to have incompetents like you ruining it!›

Esplin stomped aboard the Blade ship. One of the advantages of having four legs like an Andalite was that it made for some pretty satisfactory stomping. As well as a nice loud clattering noise.

The other Controllers followed, but made sure to stay several yards back.

Within minutes, the Yeerk ships powered up and lifted into the black sky.


	28. Indignation

**Yes, Salad Shooter is back. At 20, and married, she is rediscovering her obsession with the Animorphs universe in general and one Esplin-Nine-Four-Double-Six in particular.**

**Bad news: this chapter is short. (Edit: Not anymore, it's much longer now!)  
**

**Good news: there will be more soon.**

**If I still have any faithful reviewers out there ... if I ever meet any of you in real life I will bake you MANY MANY cookies. REAL cookies.**

****This chapter has been redone because I finally found my original file that this whole story is kept in, and apparently I already wrote this chapter. And I like how I wrote it before ... it was funnier ... so I took ideas from both versions and wrote the chapter you see below.**

**Also, I fixed the thought-speak problem! Not with official thought-speak symbols, but with something called GUILLEMETS. ffnet recognizes them and doesn't delete them! You can look them up on Wikipedia, or just copy-paste them from my story, I don't mind.**

* * *

**Chapter 28 **

Esplin was highly displeased to discover that a renegade band of Andalites had apparently survived the destruction of the Dome ship and its fighters.

Except that they weren't really Andalites, and he wasn't really all that displeased.

On some level, in a part of his own mind of which he was not consciously aware, he intuitively recognized that the lack of Andalite opponents to fight would render his time on Earth quite dull. So deep down he rejoiced at the news that not all the Andalites on Earth were dead and hoped they would prove worthy adversaries. Perhaps this same subconscious wish prevented him from guessing the true identity of the "Andalite bandits."

Yet he _thought_ he was quite displeased. After the bandits escaped from their less-than-successful Yeerk Pool raid, he even vented his ostensible displeasure by neatly slicing a Taxxon in half. A minor feeding frenzy ensued.

But the bandits would return, and they would keep Esplin's life interesting. Bad enough to be gradually going insane. Worse to have boredom accelerate the process.

* * *

When he got a certain other piece of news, however, Esplin was totally and completely displeased.

He was at the Yeerk pool complex. He had set up an office of sorts there, a personal space that he could access without the inconvenience of having to return to his quarters on the Blade ship. It did not contain much, just the single computer and a few torture devices from his collection. It mainly provided a convenient place to do his own private work, and a degree of separation from the frenzy of activity that went on in the Yeerk pool complex.

When his sister was around, however, the office was not much of a sanctuary.

"IN THE JUNGLE, THE MIGHTY JUNGLE, THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT!"

‹Hekliss — ›

"IN THE JUNGLE, THE QUIET JUNGLE, THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT!"

‹Hekliss!›

"AH-WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-EEEE-EEEE — "

‹HEKLISS!›

"WHAT!"

Esplin glared at her. ‹WHAT are you doing?›

His sister rolled her eyes. "It's called singing, Esplin. Singing. It's something humans do."

‹Are you getting host-happy?›

"If I was getting host-happy, don't you think I'd be spending more time with other humans … instead of here at the Yeerk pool with my BIG GRUMP of a brother?" She laughed wildly.

Esplin was not amused. ‹What is wrong with you?›

"I'm hyper."

‹Another human thing.›

"Uh-uh. Not just human. You get hyper too. It's just that when YOU get hyper, heads tend to go flying. Ah-WEEEEEEEEEE — "

‹Stop singing! It hurts my head. You know we Andalites have more acute hearing than humans.›

" 'We Andalites.' And you accuse ME of being host-happy. Oh yeah, guess what I found out."

‹What?›

"Something that you would know if you ever paid attention to the Empire announcements."

‹What?›

"You know that one Yeerk you really hate?"

‹The one who got promoted to Visser One? Don't tell me. She's dead. She got demoted for some reason. Zero-space reconfigured unexpectedly while she was on her way to wherever-she-was-going and now she's drifting around some godforsaken nebula.›

"None of the above."

Esplin snorted in annoyance. ‹Well, what IS it?›

Hekliss smirked, but discreetly backed away until she was well out of tail range. "She's coming here."

‹WHAT?!› His tail twitched in reflex. But Hekliss knew that even a reflexive twitch of Esplin's tail could be fatal if you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"She's coming here. Not here here, and not to the planet surface, but to the Pool ship. She's gonna be there for a few days."

‹Why?›

"Um, you're not going to like this."

‹I already don't like this. This is MY planet now. And every time her name comes up, it involves her stealing a lot of MY glory.›

"Yeah, well … "

‹Tell me already!›

Hekliss sighed. "She's coming to monitor your progress. Apparently she is not impressed with what she's heard so far, mainly your issues with the Andalite bandits."

‹I do not have issues with the Andalite bandits. I have simply not figured out the best way to destroy them.›

"Yeah, right. Well, issues or no issues, she thinks there's issues, so she's coming."

‹What is this?› Esplin fumed to himself. ‹I thought I was leading the invasion now. It's bad enough that I'm under orders from the Council not to change her original slow-infiltration strategy here. Now she thinks she needs to oversee my work?› He aimed a stalk eye at Hekliss. ‹So when does she get here?›

"Um … tomorrow?"

‹WHAT?! Why did you not tell me sooner?›

"Number one: I only found out by accident two days ago. I overheard a conversation between Iniss-Two-Two-Six and some other guy. Number two: I only visit the pool every three days because I have a human life to live and I need to not blow my cover. Number three: You should have been the _first _to know! Why are you not keeping up with the Empire announcements?"

Esplin looked guilty. ‹Because I _got _promoted, I _got _to lead the Yeerk invasion of Earth. I wasn't expecting any more announcements that are relevant to me, and I CERTAINLY wasn't expecting the Council to go and pull something like this!›

Hekliss rolled her eyes again. "Holy freaking monkeys, Esplin. When did you get so freaking full of yourself? The whole galaxy does not revolve around you, you know. Sometimes it's a good idea to keep up with what's going on with the rest of the Empire. Yeah, you're the first and only Andalite-Controller. Yeah, you're _Visser Three_. Whoop-de-freakin'-doo. Newsflash: You're not the only Yeerk in the universe."

‹Whoop-de-freakin'-doo?›

"That's the one thing I say that you worry about? Dangit, Esplin, you're the reason I have a hyper twelve-year-old human girl for a host, so don't even start. The point is, Visser One is coming tomorrow, and you should be grateful that I warned you, otherwise you would've looked REALLY stupid tomorrow."

‹If you keep taking advantage of the fact that you're the only one allowed to patronize me and live, you will quickly lose the privilege,› Esplin threatened.

But Hekliss was making sure to keep out of tail range. She knew her brother too well. "Keep your nasty tail to yourself, thank you. You _need_ me. If only because I am the only common-sense influence on you."

‹You. Common sense. Right. I'd bet my Blade ship you are under the influence of the substance humans call caffeine. You would never be this bold otherwise.›

Hekliss laughed. "Guilty as charged. And hey, you haven't killed me yet, so it looks like caffeine is safe enough."

‹The operative word is "yet." You are getting REALLY annoying, and I am extremely unhappy with the news you have brought me. I would say you are pushing your luck.›

"Okay, I'll shut up," Hekliss acquiesced. "So. You going to rant to me about it? Isn't that what you keep me around for? I'm all ears."

‹YES I'm going to rant,› Esplin growled, beginning to pace back and forth. ‹I don't want to see her face. I want to forget she exists. The biggest promotion of my career, and she has to outdo it, and not only that, but she does it by taking the glory for _my_ achievements! She profited off of the species that _I_ discovered! She stole _my_ rightful title as the first human-Controller!› He made a noise of disgust. ‹She's nothing but an overambitious, usurping _dapsen_.›

‹A little envious, are we, Yeerk?› Alloran said smugly. Since Elfangor's death, he directly addressed Esplin in his thoughts much less frequently, although the Yeerk could still see his host's every thought. Alloran mainly limited himself to tossing out a cutting remark here and there to provoke Esplin, rather than maintaining a constant annoying presence. The rest of the time he withdrew into himself and brooded. His thoughts were very depressing and Esplin had learned to ignore them as much as possible.

"Feel better?" Hekliss asked.

Esplin stopped pacing. ‹You just watch,› he insisted. ‹She doesn't deserve that rank. One day the Council will see her for the worthless free-rider she truly is. I promise you, Edriss 562 will not hold her rank for long. One day _I_ will be Visser One.›

* * *

**tigergirl: Nope, not heartless. No one's really heartless ... at least, they don't start out that way. In fact, I have a series of events in mind to keep Esplin from ending up that way ... hint hint ... although I will let him go very, very close to the edge. Stay tuned for when the real drama starts.**

**("Stay tuned." God, I miss Shona, my fellow Esplin-obsessee. Did she drop off of the face of ffnet? that makes me sad ... )**

**Sinister Shadow: Hope you are still around so I get to freak you out again. Sorry, I probably owe you like a million new chapters by now. Sorry I did not update soon like you asked. Life got in the way ... isn't it annoying how that happens? Anyway. I am so sad that you stopped writing. Seriously. I hope it heartens you that I have not entirely done the same.**

**Yes, I just used a word like "heartens" outside of a story ... anyway. This is for you. Visser Freaking One Is Coming. The next chapter ... their first encounter ... is for you too.**

**Mel: Haaa nice. Wait, wouldn't demorphing have cured the indigestion? Just saying. (Because of course I must be a technically correct Animorphs geek.) Of course, indigestion even for a few seconds would be uncomfortable ...  
**

**And I'm gone two years and they STILL HAVEN'T FIXED THE DARN THOUGHT-SPEAK PROBLEM. Come on ffnet. Give us Animorphs writers a break.**

**Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW! I put up my first chapter in two years and no one's reviewed yet :(**

**Reviewers will receive my eternal gratitude. In addition to the aforementioned cookies.**

**~Salad Shooter `Ô**›


	29. Animosity

**See, I really am back and updating, you have another new chapter!**

**This chapter is dedicated to Sinister Shadow. Because it's the one she's been begging for. ;)  
**

**

* * *

  
**

**Chapter 29**

The first thing Esplin had to do to prepare for Visser One's arrival was to assemble the members of his personal army on his Blade ship and distribute their red uniforms.

The uniforms were not usually worn, nor were they required at all by Empire law. It was simply a safety precaution initiated by the vissers of the Empire themselves. Political animosity among Yeerks was not a new phenomenon, and fights had broken out between warring vissers before. The uniforms ensured that if such a skirmish were to occur, the Controllers would know who was on their side and who was the enemy.

Esplin did not expect such an incident, but he half hoped for one. He would have welcomed the chance to do away with his rival before she caused him any more grief.

Once the uniforms were distributed, it was time to rendezvous with the Pool ship. It was necessary that Esplin and his crew be there to welcome Visser One, or he would look bad. As much as he disliked the fact, Visser One did outrank him, and rank counted for much with the Council. Visser One could use a failure to acknowledge her superiority in this way as evidence that Esplin was not fully devoted to the cause of the Empire. Which was a headache Esplin certainly did not need.

The Blade ship docked with the Pool ship, and Esplin and his troops disembarked. He barked out some orders to the red-uniformed Controllers, and they began to spread throughout the ship, mingling with the full-time crew of the Pool ship, who wore brown uniforms as a general practice.

Esplin proceeded to the bridge and pulled up the Yeerk information network on the computers. From now on he would be fully aware of every new development concerning Visser One. He would be completely prepared when _her_ Blade ship came to dock with the Pool ship.

He was nervous. He had never met this Yeerk whom he hated so ferociously face-to-face. He did not like the hindrance she posed to his advancement. He wondered what kind of Yeerk she would be like, wondered what lengths he would have to go to in order to topple her from her prestigious rank.

He had no idea. And so he was nervous. And without Hekliss around to defuse his nervousness — as a weak human child, Hekliss was fairly useless as a soldier, and she had her human façade to keep up besides — Esplin had nothing to do but remain at the mercy of his own anxiety. He paced. His tail twitched. His stalk eyes restlessly roamed over the room. Eventually he wished the other visser would just hurry up and arrive so he could get the encounter over with.

His wish was soon granted. The notice came that Visser One's Blade ship was entering the docking port. It was time for Esplin to head there to meet her.

‹Here we go, I suppose,› he muttered as he left the bridge.

* * *

In appearance, she was a human female of shorter-than-average height with dark brown hair. Seemingly harmless enough. Yet when her eyes met Esplin's, he saw only the gaze of a ruthless, cunning, intelligent Yeerk.

Perhaps too intelligent.

‹Welcome back to Earth, Visser One,› Esplin greeted her with false hospitality. ‹I trust your journey was pleasant enough?›

"Indeed it was, Visser Three," Visser One said icily. "However, we are not here to talk of my journey, but my destination. The planet I left in _your_ hands." She raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly at Esplin.

‹I am handling this planet well enough,› Esplin replied stiffly.

"Well enough. Well. We will see about that." She glanced around at the Controllers milling about the docking bay. "Do you have somewhere more private we can talk? Somewhere away from this rabble?"

Esplin looked at her, surprised. But as he thought about it, it began to make sense, at least to him. He didn't trust her in the least, and it was probably better not to risk losing face in front of his subordinates. No telling what she might do. ‹I have set apart private quarters on this ship for myself. Follow me.›

He turned and began walking. Out of a rearward-facing stalk eye, he saw her smirk, then begin to follow.

It was gratifying to be in the leading position for a little while, even for something as simple as traveling to a different location on the ship. It gave him some small sense of satisfaction while it lasted. However, as soon as they arrived at his quarters, Visser One again took charge.

"Now we can talk," she announced.

‹About what?›

"Where do you want me to start?" she shot back. "You failed at eliminating a small task force of the Andalite filth. You insisted on killing Elfangor not with a Dracon beam or your tail, but with a ridiculously large, noisy morph, attracting the attention of nearby humans and nearly giving away our presence. You also failed to capture said humans. Several times you have faced the very Andalites you failed to destroy the first time, and they _still live_. You are a loud, impulsive, incompetent fool. You are a danger to the success of this invasion and I shall do all in my power to see you removed. Understand me?"

Esplin stared at her with his main eyes, stunned. He had to think of a retort. Had to! Couldn't let this Yeerk — the Yeerk who had profited off of his own achievements — get away with accusing _him_ of being the incompetent one!

His tail had impulsively jerked forward at Visser One's scathing comments, but Esplin's self-preservation instinct had kept him from swinging it at the visser's neck. Now was not the time. A rash act like that would only get him executed as a traitor.

‹Truth hurts, doesn't it, Yeerk?› Alloran remarked.

‹SHUT UP!›

"What's wrong, Esplin-Nine-Four-Double-Six?" Visser One mocked. "Not used to hearing criticism? No one but cowering subordinates around you, who must praise your every action in order to keep their own lives? It is not their opinion you need to be concerned about. I know about your failures. The Council knows about your failures. You have achieved your current rank through sheer luck and audacity, but those qualities will not make you useful to the Empire over the long term. Enough failures, Esplin, and you will lose your rank as quickly as you obtained it."

‹I worked for my rank!› Esplin yelled. ‹I discovered the humans! I infested this Andalite! Every promotion I got was based on something I did! _You_ got promoted because of what _I_ did! You wouldn't even have known about the humans if it wasn't for me!›

"Yes, you discovered the humans. But what did you do about it? Nothing. As soon as you got what you wanted and infested your pet Andalite here, the humans meant nothing to you. I was the only one willing to actually FIND the planet, learn about the humans, and set up operations here!"

‹I reported to Olgin like I was supposed to! They were the ones who were supposed to do something about it!›

"Excuses, Visser Three." She shook her head. "The Council does not take excuses very kindly."

Esplin seethed wordlessly.

"Visser! Visser!"

‹WHAT IS IT?!› Esplin roared, at the same time that Visser One said "Yes?"

The brown-uniformed Hork-Bajir-Controller cringed at Esplin's excessively loud thought-speak. "We are getting a distress signal. Except … it is the wrong frequency. Akrin believes it is the Andalite bandits trying to lure us into a trap."

‹The Andalite bandits?› Esplin grinned with his main eyes. ‹I'll be there. We'll see who traps who.›

* * *

**please review? *puppy eyes***


	30. Cunning

**Yay, Christmas Break is here! And so I had time to write another chapter :)**

* * *

Edriss 562 was peeved.

She was in her temporary quarters on the Pool ship, pacing impatiently. Esplin had gone to apprehend the Andalite bandits, leaving her to simply wait.

Upon being transferred from her former position as head of the Earth invasion two years a go, she had made it a priority to learn all she could about her replacement. The official records on Esplin 9466 the primary twin gave her the impression of an ambitious, impulsive egotist with very little in the way of finesse or subtlety — in short, exactly the wrong type of person to lead the Earth invasion as far as Edriss was concerned. Subtlety was paramount when attempting to subjugate a race as numerous — and unpredictable — as the humans. But even being first among all Vissers did not give her the power to change the Council's decision on this matter.

Instead, she resigned herself to keeping up with any new information on either Esplin himself or his progress on Earth. Most of these updates were not encouraging, and only served to cement her negative opinion of the Yeerk who now ranked Visser Three. Now, having met him in person for the first time, her worst fears were confirmed. How could the Council have put such a blathering idiot in charge of an entire planet?

_Curse the whole lot of them,_ Edriss thought.

She sighed. The Council's main problem was their emphasis on results above all else. Edriss didn't mind that they prized results. She could give them results, and had done so repeatedly throughout her career. Yet they seemed woefully incapable of discerning those results obtained by skill and cunning from those which had come about primarily by chance. Or, more likely, they deliberately chose to be blind to the difference. Edriss mentally cursed them again. As far as she was concerned, Esplin's claim that he had discovered the humans was exaggerated nonsense. He had simply happened to be the Yeerk in charge of the particular region of the Taxxon world where some humans had arrived, in the custody of a group of Andalites. Far from Esplin discovering the humans, they had more accurately discovered him. He had simply taken advantage of the opportunity this event had presented him. There was no great effort in that; it was merely a case of being in the right place at the right time. It was she, Edriss, who had journeyed into deep space to find the human planet. It was she who had spent all those months searching for it, and then many more months educating herself about the human species and formulating an organized plan to take them over. Compared with her work, Esplin's active efforts toward furthering the cause of the Empire amounted to less than a Helmacron's eyeball.

Yet if Esplin's undeserved rank had been the only thing that plagued her thoughts, it would have been no great matter. He was no real threat to Edriss herself. He would have been a nuisance, nothing more. But for reasons she could never disclose to any other Yeerk, she could not afford to have such an impulsive, violent fool remain in charge of Earth.

For as long as Esplin 9466 controlled operations on Earth, the lives of the human twins Madra and Darwin would be in jeopardy.

_How ironic,_ Edriss noted. _A twin is the main threat to my twins._ She was hardly in the mood for humor, though, so she let the thought pass.

"Rendat," she said to her personal assistant, Rendat 617, a Hork-Bajir-Controller. "I am concerned that the Council has made a grave mistake assigning Visser Three to his current post. I fear he presents a great risk to the success of our efforts here."

"ONe would think that the Council would have given such a responsibility to someone more ... rational," Rendat agreed.

Edriss smiled. She had always chosen her assistants on the basis of two qualities: significant intelligence and a significant lack of ambition. The former ensured that she would have competent help; the latter that she would have a loyal companion and not a rival striving for one-upmanship. Rendat was ideal on both counts. His own considerable intelligence was augmented by that of his Hork-Bajir seer host, yet he possesed a placid, docile temperament. In addition, he greatly admired Visser One. Edriss knew that most vissers would give their Blade ships to be served by underlings like Rendat, and she recognized her own good fortune in having been able to secure this particular Yeerk's loyalty.

She looked directly at her assistant. "Would you like the chance to prove your loyalty to me, Rendat?"

"I would be honored to do whatever it is you ask, Visser," Rendat replied.

"The Council seems to be unaware of the extent of Visser Three's incompetence. We must make them aware. We must find a way to discredit him. HIs failure up to this point to capture or kill the Andalite bandis has made him look quite the fool. We must ensure that he continues to look foolish. This is where you come in."

Rendat leaned forward expectantly.

"If Visser Three succeeds in bringing the Andalites aboard this ship, you must make sure they escape. Do only the bare minimum. It must appear that they escaped on their own. Above all, do not let any of Visser Three's soldiers suspect what you are up to. Can you do this?"

Rendat touched the fingers of his right hand to his frontmost horn, a Hork-Bajir affirmative gesture. "I will take care of it for you, Visser." He turned to leave.

"If you succeed, I will put in a good word for you with the Council. Oh, and Rendat?"

He paused in the doorway, looking over his shoulder at her. "Yes?"

"_Do not fail me._"

Rendat nervously touched his horn again and left the room.

Edriss sighed. Though she knew Rendat's loyalty to his visser was unquestionable, she also knew that it never hurt to have your subordinates fear you. A leader would garner the most respect if she ruled with a skillful balance of both threats and kindness.

If Esplin actually managed to capture the bandits, Rendat would ensure their time in custody was short. Either way, by the end of Edriss's visit, the bandits would still be at large, and perhaps the Council would begin to question Esplin's ability to effectively lead a planetary invasion in the face of such a resistance.

No matter what, Edriss vowed to herself, she would see to it that Esplin would one day be removed from his current position. She simply could not allow otherwise.

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**~Salad Shooter `Ô**›


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